Night Watchmen 02: The Chicago Way
by Ironbear
Summary: A demon mobster boss and vamp nests make it clear to Faith and the gang that summer is no longer the slow time on the Hellmouth while LA vampire gang fights and an old face takes Buffy deeper into her past...
1. Prologue: Just how much sin?

_**An Alternate BtVS Season 3:**_**"Mortal Friends; Mortal Foes"**

_**Author:**_ Sherman Barnes aka "Ironbear"

_**Disclaimer:**_ _Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel the Series, and all characters from those series belong to Mutant Enemy, Joss Whedon, 20th Century Fox Television, Kuzui Enterprises, UPN, Warner Brothers, and David Greenwalt Productions. I'm only borrowing them for the purposes of fanfiction, and only the plot and storyline, and those characters of my own creation belong to me. No profit is being made from this endeavor. Faith's back story draws __loosely__ from that shown in "Go Ask Malice: A Slayer's Diary" by Robert Joseph Levy; Simon Spotlight Entertainment. Episode events and episode dialogue quotes, where used, are drawn from the transcripts and summaries at , Wikipedia, and the shooting scripts at (/buffyverse.asp)_

_**Author's Note: **__What if Faith had arrived earlier in Sunnydale and Buffy had returned a month later? What if the Mayor had had a slightly different goal? What if Spike never made it out of town following the love spell disaster, but met a different fate? Just how far apart is the line between "good slayer' and "evil slayer"? Diverges drastically from canon in many places, especially following "Lover's Walk" and "Bad Girls"._

_**Synopsis:**_ _Faith slowly - and often fitfully - integrates deeper into Sunnydale and the "Scooby Gang" as summer progresses into August. Elsewhere, Buffy Summers attempts to navigate living in LA and even no longer being the active "Chosen One" doesn't mean it's easy to return to having a real life. A demon mobster boss and vamp nests make it clear to Faith and the gang that summer is no longer the slow time on the Hellmouth. And, as if LA vampire gang fights weren't enough reminder of all she's trying to leave behind, an old face takes Buffy deeper into the past... _

_**Word Count:**__ 35,377 total. 34,367 sans Disclaimer, Previouslies, and Credits._

**"Night Watchmen"**

_**A Buffy the Vampire Slayer Alternate Season 3 Prequel**_

_**Previously on Buffy the Vampire Slayer:**_

_Los Angeles: Buffy wanders into the disreputable looking diner after seeing the 'Help Wanted' sign, already dispirited from previous job refusals. Reminding herself that she and confidence are actually very mixy, she manages to stumble through asking the lady at the register for a job. To her surprise, she gets it, making it possible for her to hang on bit longer in LA..._

_New York: "A small token," the old man states. "It will change your fortunes for the better." After being reassured that it's not some trick or cursed jewelry, Faith nods decisively, and snatches the amulet before he can change his mind. "My fortunes could use some changing," she allows. She looks it over curiously before tucking it into a pocket of the tight jeans. It is rounded, flat, and of a slivery metal inscribed with wavy lines, and with some sort of curving design cut into it..._

_Sunnydale: "Humping dirtsucker," the dark haired girl slams the much worse for wear vamp against a tombstone with a circle kick and steps back. She throws Xander an exhilarated look and points, "Mind if I borrow that?" As Xander gawks, trying to make sense out of the situation, Cordelia blows a clump of hair out of her eyes and picks up the fallen stake, tossing it to the newcomer. The girl snags it out of mid-air with a wide grin, ducks under the vamp's wild swing as he comes up and off of the tombstone, and slams it through his chest with a flourish. "Gonna go out on a limb and say there's a new Slayer in town," Oz notes. "You got it, Ace," Faith replies..._

_Sunnydale: The creature shambles forward, picking up speed as it goes. Cordelia shoots it, and it slaps her to one side almost negligently as it goes by. She hits the alley wall and slid down it, moaning. Faith's vision goes red, briefly, seeing Cordelia injured. She snarls and leaps in to meet it headlong, bringing the long dagger in from up low in a gutting stroke, and her axe across at neck level. The knife strikes home, slicing, and a foul stench came out with it. The axe misses the neck and bites into the demon's shoulder at an angle. It brings an arm across and backhands Faith across the jaw and upper chest, sending her crashing to the concrete. A massive set of claws gouges sparks from the alley floor as Faith rolls sideways, coming up with the axe biting deep - but not deeply enough - into the creature's side. It spins toward the blow, claws reaching for her. She has a vague impression of seeing Xander hacking at it from behind with his smaller axe..._

_Sunnydale: "Cordy." Faith's voice drops a register and ten degrees and Cordelia and Xander look at her sharply. "Nuh uh. You guys been telling me how this is a group deal since I got here. I ain't no damned leader." She scuffs a foot against the court surface. "I can't promise I'm a team player always, but this is like partners if we're gonna do it. I'm fucking up, or you got better ideas, you guys tell me." A grin quirks at the corner of her mouth, "Might even listen before I tell you to fuck off and die." Oz, Cordelia, and Xander all give her startled, and then thoughtful looks. At least Faith thinks Oz's is thoughtful - it's hard to tell with him. Cordelia gives her a long, intense scrutiny, and then nods abruptly and follows it with one of the thousand watt grins. "Partners," Cordelia says, as Xander nods and quirks a half-grin. "And I still think it sounds ok."_

**Prologue: Just how **_**much**_** sin are we talking, here?**

_**Wednesday August 5, 1998; Sunnydale Beach past Oceanside Pier, night.**_

Faith pulled her forked stick marshmallow roaster out of the flames, checking to make sure the twin mallows were at just the right degree of toasted. Lifting an eyebrow, she grinned wickedly and extended the skewer past the fire to Willow and Oz, giving Willow an innocently inquiring look when the little red-head turned her head to see a roasted puffball six inches away from the end of her nose and squeaked in alarm.

"Room service?" Faith waggled her eyebrows. Willow waved her hands, shaking her head, then at an elbow nudge from Oz gave Faith an 'oh, what the heck' look and leaned forward to lip the treat off of the skewer.

She flushed happily, grinning, as Faith cocked her head and remarked, "Yay Red! Gonna get you on this living large train before you know it."

"Today marshmallow, tomorrow the world," Oz said.

Faith offered the other one to Oz, who blew on his, then reached out and took it from the stick, pulling it apart to eat. He nodded a 'thank you' and she drew the stick back. She stuck a couple more on to toast for herself, leaning back comfortably.

"Yes, Pinky. The planet will be a far different place when it's Willow-world," Faith nodded.

"But-but-but, where will we get four hundred gallons of tootie-fruity and a plasma globe at this time of night, Brain?" Willow asked, eyes wide.

"And PVC lederhosen in Giles' size," Oz nodded. Willow spluttered.

Laughing, Faith shook her head, saying, "You two are wicked strange. But in a good way."

"That's our Will: wicked strange and yet oddly callous at times," Xander called out from the smaller fire where he was grilling burgers with Cordelia's laughing supervision. "But, oddly endearing when computing the volume of vamp dust in your typical graveyard."

Willow's eyes took on a distant look and Oz nudged her again. She focused, blinking, and said, "Oh, right - joke." She winked and nudged Oz back to show she was kidding.

"Burger?" Cordelia passed a plate in front of Faith on her way to her's and Xander's blanket. Faith took one, and Cordy extended the plate to Oz and Willow before carefully sitting down cross-legged to take one of her own.

"Don't mind if I do," Faith nodded, biting in. She raised her eyebrows and looked at Oz, "Dos me?" Oz snagged a Dos Equis out of the cooler near him and tossed it to her.

"Dos Yechies?" Cordelia sniffed, smiling. "Clara?" she requested, holding her hand out.

"Uno Pacifica," Oz said, handing her a bottle.

"Hey, not a St. Pauli or Pacifica, but those and Sammy's are for enjoying on their own, not washing down cow-on-a-bun," Faith said. She opened the bottle with her teeth and spit the cap away.

"Ow!" Xander gave her an alarmed look as he pulled up a chunk of blanket next to Cordelia. "That does it - you are now _off_ of my official favorite fantasy list, Missy." Faith grinned and made a snapping motion with her teeth at him and Xander crossed his legs protectively.

"She'd _better_ be, Doofoid," Cordelia swatted him with one hand and handed him a burger with the other. She winked at Faith, smirking, stretching her long legs out in front of her.

"Yes dear. Thank you dear," Xander smirked and inhaled a mouthful of burger. He gave Cordelia's mini-skirt, bikini top, and thong bottom ensemble an appreciative look, sighing contentedly.

"Damn, boy - chew!" Faith's eyes went wide.

"Nuffuh. Gefsinthewayofeafing," Xander grabbed another burger. He swallowed, "At _my_ house, you learn to wolf down the food before Dad falls asleep in it."

Faith leaned back, comfortable and sighing. "Hey - _you_ had food. At my house, we had to chip our own food out of flint."

"And you were lucky to have flint?" Willow said.

"Yup," Xander offered. "I hear some kids in Boston had to make their own flint with mud and pressure first." The plate of burgers went around again and they dug in for a time.

Faith eyed Xander in his t-shirt, for once sans his usual baggy over shirt, and gave Cordelia an approving nod. "Damn. The boytoy there has a bod under those baggy clothes, girl."

"Well, of _course_," Cordelia nodded seriously. "You don't think I lowered myself for his fashion sense, do you? _Please_!" She patted his stomach, then wrapped her hands around Xander's bicep. He gave her a half insulted, half complimented look.

"It's all that truck unloading and construction in the summers," Willow supplied, then she blushed. "Oh! You should have seen him in his speedo last year!"

Xander glared at her and Willow made an oops face and mouthed 'shutting up now'. Xander shook his head. "No! There will be no speedo remembrances here!"

"Speedo?" Faith's eyebrows lifted. Willow nodded energetically, blushing.

"Oh, yes. You should have seen it," Cordelia stated. "Most of the female Sunnydale High population were lining up with their tongues dragging. Janitor didn't have to mop for a week."

"Day-um," Faith leaned over, trying to peer past the waistband of Xander's baggy shorts. He threw a beer cap at her and she snickered. "Got pictures?"

"No! No pictures!" Xander said, laughing. "There will be no rehashing of the Great Speedo Incident of '98!"

"Well," Cordelia tapped her lips with a fingernail, "Maybe a few... "

"Ack! No pictures," Xander looked across at a giggling Willow. "Is no one listening?" Willow and Oz shook their heads.

"Oh, hush, Fishboy," Cordelia swatted him. "You should appreciate the female attention."

"Fishboy?" Faith asked. Xander rolled his eyes and groaned.

"Uh huh." Willow nodded, "The swim coach was dosing the team with like, Creature From the Black Lagoon steroids and Xander had to go undercover to help investigate and, oh! the team turned into fish monsters and escaped into the ocean and - "

"Hence the speedo," Oz said.

"And almost more female droolage than during the Love Spell," Cordelia said, smiling brightly. Xander groaned again.

"We're about to do the parade of Xander's Most Embarrassing Moments, huh?" Xander made a face, hanging his head. "I am _so_ doomed."

Cordelia patted him on the arm and said, "There there. It's only because you deserve it." She coughed, "I mean, because we love you so." She smiled wickedly.

Faith snickered, "Love spell? Gotta dish, now, girl." Xander flopped back, moaning.

Willow shook her head, and then a gleam came into her eyes, "Well... Xander got Amy to cast this love spell on Cordelia, and... "

"Hey! Only because she broke up with me on Valentine's day!" He sat up and glared at Cordelia.

"And it worked on everyone _but_ me," Cordelia added.

"Ooh! And then every woman in Sunnydale was chasing him across town trying for Xander smoochies, even me and Mrs. Summers and the insane vampiress, Drusilla." Willow finished. Xander closed his eyes, shaking his head. "And Cordelia had to save him and Oz decked him," Willow said, looking proudly at Oz.

"Go Oz. Damn." Faith stared at them. "You guys know how to party." She looked at Cordelia, "But you took him back?"

"Hey - she even wore the locket I gave her," Xander said, finally submitting to the inevitability of his humiliation.

"Once! And only because it went with that outfit," Cordelia rested her arm on Xander's knee and grinned at him. She looked at Faith, "Had to. The speedo won me over. And the huge puppy-dog eyes. And the begging... "

"So... what do you think of our little chunk of the Pacific Ocean here, Faith?" Xander changed the subject, accepting a St. Pauli Girl from Oz and leaned back with his arm around Cordelia.

"Hrrm," Faith drew her knees up and wrapped her arms around them, looking out over the surf. "Never saw the Pacific before. Not bad - it'll do." She tilted her head and after a moment said, "Lots different than the Atlantic."

"Oh? How so?" Willow asked, curious.

"Ah... " Faith shook her head. "Rockier coasts in New England, so the surf is wilder. Not as... " she made a wavy motion with one hand, "Smooth as here. And we get wicked bad storms in winter. Been some massive ship wrecks off of New England - all sorts of reefs and barrier islands."

Oz pulled an old acoustic into his lap from behind himself, and picked out a minute or so of 'Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.'

"Pretty close, but that was Eerie, I think." Faith grinned. "You got the idea, though."

"Wow." Willow said.

"Tide pools are neat, though. And summer clamming is fun," Faith nodded.

"You miss Boston?" Cordelia asked, laying her head against Xander's shoulder.

"Huh?" Faith's eyebrows shot up, "Oh, _hell_ no. Parts of upper New England, maybe - there's neat places out there, but if I never see Southie or Boston again, it'll be too soon." She tipped her beer to Cordelia, "Rather live in Hell and rent out Southie."

"You _are_ living in Hell," Xander laughed.

"See?" Faith smirked, "Now, where's my rent checks?"

"In the mail?" Willow said, brightly. Faith laughed. Willow frowned, and glanced around the fire. "I feel kinda bad, cause we're all coupley and you're not."

"Don't sweat it, Red," Faith leaned back against the piece of driftwood behind her, and ran her hand down her body, clad in short cutoffs and a red halter. "Think I'd be by myself if I didn't want? I'm cool."

"Good," Willow nodded decisively. "No fun being fifth wheelish. Umm, not that you are, 'cause you're not, but if - I'mshuttingupnow."

"Breathe, Willow," Cordelia said.

Faith shook her head, smiling. "So, you guys get out of Sunnydale much?"

There were a pair of head shakes from Xander and Willow, and nods from the other two. "California, Mexico, Oregon, Washington," Oz supplied. "Concerts. Occasional gigs."

"We're planning to work him up slowly to complete sentences one day," Cordelia said tartly. Oz smiled indulgently, and Faith looked an inquiry at Cordy. Cordelia shrugged, "With the parental units all the time: Mexico, Manhattan, Florida, Bimini, Rio, Morocco, Europe."

"Damn, I'd like to do a couple of those," Faith stated.

"Europe?" Xander asked.

"Naw, Mexico," Faith said. "Europe has too many Europeans."

Cordelia lifted an eyebrow, "And in one sentence you've summed up the problem with Europe."

"She has a knack," Oz supplied. He began noodling around on his guitar strings absently, easing into 'Turn the page'. "Good travelogue background," he remarked.

Xander snickered and Faith grinned, continuing, "Now, the Orient - yeah. Tokyo, Thailand, Philippines... Or Rio: I could _do_ Carnivale." Faith shimmied in place, and then looked curiously at the cheerleader. "You gave up Mexico for the summer for here?" she asked, curious.

"Oh, please," Cordelia said, smiling. "Las Palmas? They have cockroaches big enough to own property there. Some of them are big enough to _be_ property. My parents can have it." She paused, "Now, if it'd been Cabo San Lucas or Cozumel... "

"Xander's going to do the 'see America' thing next summer," Willow ventured.

"He mentioned that," Faith nodded. She gave him a curious look. Xander nodded.

"Yeah, Geek Warrior has this whole Jack Kerouac thing he's been planning," Cordelia said, nudging Xander affectionately. "All he needs is a car and a dog."

"I was kind of planning on taking my Cordy," Xander smirked, getting a startled look from Cordelia, followed by a narrowing of her eyes.

Faith guffawed. "Oh, man. I'd rethink that calling your girlfriend a dog thing, Xan. She looks ready to bite you."

"Oh, he _wishes_," Cordelia said, clicking her teeth at Xander's arm. "And just when were you planning on _asking_ me, Doofus?"

"Umm... I was working my way up to it?" Xander said, weakly. He looked at Willow and mouthed 'help?' Willow snuggled deeper into Oz and gave Xander her 'you're on your own, Buster' face.

"When? When the Hellmouth froze over?" Cordelia shook her head. "Jeeze, _men_."

"You mean you'd like to go, maybe?" Xander looked at her, surprised.

"Hrmm." Cordelia studied his profile for a long moment, giving him a speculative look. "It might actually be kind of fun," she said, casually.

"Really?!" Xander squeaked. Faith snickered and he lowered his voice to a baritone, "I mean: really?" Faith laughed harder and he shot her a dark look.

"Well, yeah," Cordelia snuggled in closer, giving Faith a wicked look that Xander couldn't see from his angle. "We could do Disneyland, then see all the fun spots in Hollywood. Then swing back up through the Sierras and over to Reno for some gambling and shows... "

Xander's eyes grew distant, and he said, musing, "You know, that could really be cool... "

"And then down to Vegas, hitting one of those quickie marriage chapel things after we check into the Venetian."

Xander nodded, saying, "I'm liking the sound of- whoa! whoa! wait!" His eyes grew round, "Marriage?" He squeaked again.

Willow spluttered, then started giggling uncontrollably at Xander's trapped and bug-eyed expression. She caught the wicked smile Cordelia threw her and buried her face in Oz's shoulder.

"Of course! You don't think I'm going to travel across the US in motels living in _sin_ without a certificate," Cordelia arched her eyebrows and sniffed, "What kind of a girl do you think I am?"

"I'm going to take the fif- " Xander broke off, his eyes getting wider. "Sin?!"

Faith gave up and fell on her side laughing, holding her ribs. She heard Xander squeak out, "Just how _much_ sin are we talking here?" and bit down on her forearm to hold in the laughter. Willow started shrieking into Oz's shoulder, spluttering helplessly. Oz began chuckling.

"Well, yeah," Cordelia nodded, eyes wide and innocent. She stretched, arching her back. "Then a long, slow, _hot_, tour through the Grand Canyon," Xander's eyes went down to her cleavage and he lost the powers of speech again. "And then we'll head leisurely up to Niagara for the honeymoon."

"Damn, girl," Faith struggled back up, gasping. "This sounds like a blast. Doing the Elvis wedding chapel of Lurve?" She snickered and made huge puppy-dog eyes at Cordelia, "Can I come too?"

"I was thinking one of those quickie Drive-in-and-Out places," Cordelia said, licking her lips at the 'in and out'. Xander choked, glaring at Faith, but Cordelia gave Faith an earnest look and cut over him before he could say anything. "But, sure! But _only_ up to Niagara. I _mean_, menage a trois are _tres_ chic experimental before the honeymoon, but _so_ declasse during, you know?"

"I'm down with that," Faith nodded enthusiastically, giving Xander a sloe eyed look and licking her lips slowly. Xander's eyes glazed over and his mouth dropped to his chest as he looked at Cordelia.

Willow looked up, briefly, saw Xander's face, then said "oh god!" and fell forward over her knees, gasping for breath. "Please!"

"Experimental?" Xander said in a high pitched tone. "You? Faith? Me? You?"

"What?" Cordelias voice dropped into the low and sultry registers. She blinked slowly and sleepily, "You don't know how _often_ I've wondered about a Faith and me sandwich with Xander filling?"

Xander's eyes rolled upwards, then he jumped up, clenched his fists, yelled, "Auuugggghhh!!" and ran across the beach into the surf.

"oh gods, stop please stop," Willow said, hiccuping.

Faith looked over and shook her head, "Damn. I think you broke the Willow."

"Maximum Willow breakage," Oz nodded agreeably.

"That was just just just... " Willow aimed a shaky finger at Cordelia and Faith, "MEAN!"

"Well, yeah," Faith said. "But it was funny."

Another 'auuuggghhh!' came from the water, and Willow glared at her and then started spluttering. "It was, too!" She buried her face in her hands, "God. I'm a horrible Willow-person."

"There, there," Cordelia said, soothingly. "Just think of calculus and you'll be ok." Willow looked at her, then spluttered and buried her face in Oz's shoulder again.

"I thought I had the moves, but damn! I bow to the new champion," Faith said, bending at the waist. "Hail to the Queen!"

"Do not try this at home, kids," Oz intoned. "The Cordy is a professional." He and Faith saluted Cordelia with their near empty beers.

Cordelia inclined her head graciously, then broke out laughing for the first time since she'd started, "Teach _him_ not to ask me _first _before blurting out something like that!"

"Oh, you guys are _bad_!" Willow said, giggling.

"Well, yeah," Faith accepted another beer from Oz. "So, think any of the swim team's still out there?"

"Probably," Cordelia said. She didn't look too concerned. After a few minutes she sighed, "But I guess we should go rescue him."

"Yeah," Faith stood, nodding, as Cordelia uncurled from her blanket to her feet. "Before anything bites off Little Xander - it'd ruin the road trip."


	2. Chapter 1: Learning Curves

**Episode 1b:**

**"The Chicago Way"**

_by Ironbear_

**Starring:**

Elisha Dushku as "Faith"

Sarah Michelle Gellar as "Buffy Summers"

Anthony Stewart Head as "Rupert Giles"

Nicholas Brendan as "Alexander 'Xander' Harris"

Alyson Hannigan as "Willow Rosenberg"

Charisma Carpenter as "Cordelia Chase"

Seth Green as "Daniel 'Oz' Osbourne"

**Co-Starring:**

Kristine Sutherland as "Joyce Summers"

Saverio Guerra as "Willy the Snitch"

**Guest Starring:**

Lucinda Jenney as "Janice"

Luke Perry as Oliver Pike

J. August Richards as "Charles Gunn"

Jason Carter as Mob Boss demon

Marcus Redmond as Kaliff demon

_"You wanna know how to get Capone? They pull a knife, you pull a gun. He sends one of yours to the hospital, you send one of his to the morgue. __That's__ the __**Chicago**__ way! And that's how you get Capone. Now do you want to do that? Are you __**ready**__ to do that?" - Malone, The Untouchables_

**Chapter 1: Learning Curves -**

_**Friday August 7, 1998; Sunnydale High School library; afternoon.**_

"Excellent, Faith," Rupert Giles leaned tiredly against a bookshelf at the back of the library, pulling off the kicking pads so he could work his still stinging hands. Nearby, Faith went through an elaborate set of half speed katas while he watched her form for flaws or errors.

"Thanks, Jeeves," Faith threw a grin over her shoulder at him and ended the kata with a series of jabs, hooks, and uppercuts before bouncing to a halt.

"I believe the proper response from me is: please don't call me that," Giles gave her a tired grin, "And, you're very welcome." He cocked his head slightly, studying her. "Just how many styles are you familiar with?"

"Armed, or unarmed?" Faith raised an eyebrow. "And... well, or just know a little of?" She took the water bottle he handed her, drank half of it, and poured the rest over her head.

"Hrrm. Skilled at? And, unarmed," Giles asked.

"Let's see... basic brawling, from the streets; Krav Maga, from the Prof; Shotokan, Ju-jitsu, and Muay Tai from Sensei Kanno, and a bit of Aki-jutsu." She ticked them off on her fingers, "And a bit of this and that, but not so much as to be skilled at."

"Hmmm." Giles nodded, "And boxing?"

"Ah," Faith snapped her fingers. "Picked that up before." At Giles' inquiring look, she shrugged and added, "Used to know a guy at one of the Southie gyms and he let me hang out there as a kid. Guys thought it was cute showing the little girl how to fight like the pros." Faith grinned suddenly, "Got pretty decent at it."

"Yes, quite," Giles ducked his head, hiding a smile. "Well, you certainly have a good grounding in forms and skills. Aside from maintaining your training, and offering tips, I'm afraid there's not much I can add to your styles."

"Cool," Faith nodded. "So, I'm good, then?"

"Yes." Giles smiled. "You have both a tendency to drop your right shoulder when punching, and also to leave yourself open on the left side a bit coming out of kicks, but those should be simple to correct."

"Wicked," Faith frowned. "Have a bit of a tendency to lose my science when I get pissed off. The Prof was trying to teach me to use the rage, not get lost in it, but then.. "

"Right," Giles sighed, removing his glasses to inspect them for dust. "I gather you and Professor Dormer were close?"

"Not so much," Faith shook her head, "But... could have been, maybe." She looked away for along time, hands balling into loose fists. "She didn't take any crap, but she let me know she thought I could do whatever. Kinda like one of those aunts when you were a kid that spoiled you rotten but you were terrified to piss them off?"

"Quite," Giles said in a gentle tone. "I had an uncle like that when I was small. He could be, well, a right prick, actually." Faith looked over at him, startled, and laughed. "But us nephews and nieces loved him."

"Right," Faith nodded. She hopped up to sit on a table and changed the subject in a fashion that left it clear the matter was closed. "Speaking of... how much training does Cordy and the rest have?"

"Ahem," Giles gave her a startled look. "Wh-why, I'm afraid I wouldn't know, actually." He put his glasses back on and peered at her over the tops, "Why do you ask?"

"Asked Cordy if she knew how to use an axe against that demon, and didn't get an answer I liked," Faith stated. "And I noticed that Xander tries, but he can't fight worth jack."

"Hmmm." Giles examined at Faith intently for several moments, then crossed his arms and looked away, thoughtful. "I'm afraid that I really haven't given it much consideration."

"Why not?" Giles saw that Faith was watching him intently without giving the appearance of doing so, her expression bored and her eyes unreadable.

"Well," Giles began, then paused. He met Faith's eyes directly, "I'm afraid I really don't have an adequate answer for you on that, Faith."

"Good enough." Faith grinned at him, her eyes sparkling again. She jumped down from the table and bounced to her toes. "Blades?"

"Certainly," Giles nodded. He had the distinct feeling that he'd either passed an important test, or failed one and he wasn't certain which. Possibly both.

**...**

_**Friday August 7, 1998; Los Angeles; late-afternoon.**_

Glancing at the clock, Janice touched Buffy on the elbow as she hurried past the counter to stick a ticket on the spindle. "Shift end. Go ahead and finish with that table, Anne, then you can take off for the day."

"Thanks!" Buffy nodded, flashing her nominal boss a wide, if exhausted, grin. "I will."

As she came back by, Janice gave her an abrupt nod. "Make sure you take good care of that one - they tip big. And don't pay any mind to the manager: you're doing fine."

Buffy nodded back, hurrying on with the order for the table in question. After remembering to ask if they needed refills or anything else, she did a last run through on her side work, then leaned heavily against the counter. Waitressing was a _lot_ harder than it looked, she was realizing. And the pay sucked. And her feet hurt all the time.

A sudden memory of Angel's shocked expression as she shoved Kendra's sword through his chest flashed through her mind's eye again and she shuddered. Waitressing had that sucky thing going for it, and yet, still not as much as being 'The Slayer'.

She blew hair out of her eyes tiredly, and, seeing her final table was getting ready to finish up, hurried over to put their check down and wait for tip and clearing it.

Walking to what she'd be tempted to laughingly call 'home', if it was really laughable, she decided to splurge on a newspaper and large cappuccino at one of the little coffee bars in the area. While paying at the register, she had a sudden startled moment as a vaguely familiar voice behind her called out her name - her real one - and froze, half way to spinning and bolting.

"Buffy? Buffy Summers?" Rather than running, Buffy turned slowly, a sickly smile on her face. Her jaw almost dropped when she connected the voice with the face looking back at her.

"Pike?" Buffy's jaw dropped. Somewhat older, a bit more tanned, but the same guy she'd last seen when she was burning down the gym at Hemery while dealing with Lothos. Almost the same guy: a lot more buff looking. _'Whoa,'_ she thought, _'Pike grew shoulders? Yum.'_

"Hey, yeah. Man - long time," Pike nodded, grinning. He shifted his grip on a small dark haired figure in his arms, its face buried in his shoulder. "Let's get away from the counter before someone lynches us for blocking traffic patterns."

Buffy nodded, numbly, and followed him over to the small row of stools along one wall.

"Man. Never expected to bump into you," Pike shook his head. "How's err, Sunnydale?"

Buffy found her voice again, finally, and managed, "Oh, still there, last I checked." She made an airy wave with one hand, "I'm, uh, not living there any more."

"Back in LA? Cool," Pike grinned again. "Me too."

The small bundle in his arms stirred and wriggled, and turned around, yawning and fisting an eye with one hand. A pair of huge, brilliant hazel eyes met Buffy's, went wider. The little girl gave a hesitant wave and then buried her face back in Pike's shoulder, peeking out again a few moments later.

"Oh, my, God! She's adorable," Buffy looked up at Pike, her jaw dropping again. "Yours?"

"Thanks," He grinned even wider. "And yeah. Elena Conchita Pike, and future heart breaker."

"How old is she?" A real grin broke out on Buffy's face as she exchanged winks with the little girl.

"Four. Well, three-and-a-half," Pike said. "Going on four."

Buffy raised an eyebrow, "Wow. Has it really been that long?"

"Uh, no," He shook his head. "Not quite, anyway." His jaw tightened a bit at the corner, and he hugged the little girl a bit tighter, "She came as part of a... package deal. But she's mine now."

"Buy one, get one free," Buffy nodded. "Gotta watch those sales," she teased. "_So_ easy to walk away with more than you planned on shopping for." She took a sip of her cappuccino.

"_So_ right," he laughed. "But she's a bargain at any price," he said in a proud tone, grinning as Elena yawned and went back to sleep.

"Her mom?" Buffy glanced around. "Or at home?"

Pike's jaw tightened again, and the grin faltered a bit. "Uh, she's not with us any more," he said, simply. The was a sudden, dark flash to his eyes, quickly hidden.

"Oh." Buffy closed her mouth and shook her head. "Open mouth, catch foot in mouth disease. Sorry."

"No problem. You couldn't have known." Pike shrugged, and said, "One of those weird gang things. You remember, probably."

"Ah." Buffy nodded. "Like with the grr and the weird faces?" Pike nodded and she added, "Yeah. I remember. And I'm so sorry."

"Happens," Pike shrugged again and Buffy decided to have a major tact moment and drop the subject.

"So," Buffy said, "You're in LA again? Thought you left after... ?" She hoped she wasn't hitting another conversational land mine.

Evidently not, because Pike's grin came back. "Did. Came back. You know how it is - once La La Land gets in your blood, you're infected."

"Oh yeah, tell me about it," Buffy nodded, sipping at her coffee again. "And _you_ came back all brawny and stuff."

"Construction and mechanic work'll do that for you," Pike nodded agreeably. "So, you're working at... " he glanced at her name tag, "Helen's?" His eyes widened slightly and he grinned. "Er, Anne?"

"Huh?" Buffy glanced down and colored rapidly. "Er, yeah, err... funny thing about that. My! Large weather we're having, huh?"

"Yup. It's weather, sure enough." Pike's eyes crinkled at the corners and he laughed. "Ok, no prying. It's your secrets."

"No secret, really." Buffy made a face. "Just... decided to leave a lot of things behind and start fresh."

"Happens," he nodded. "Uh, hey. Would you like to have dinner with me?" He lifted his arm a bit, causing Elena to shift slightly, "And the munchkin here, of course."

"Ah. Built in chaperon, huh?" Buffy's eyes narrowed slightly in thought. "You know what? I'd love to. But I just got off work, exhausted, and _really_ not dressed for it today."

"No worry. Uh... I have to get her home anyway," he paused, then added. "I was kinda thinking more at our apartment so I can get her taken care of. Like, I'll cook something."

"You cook?" Buffy's eyes widened. "Wow." She thought about going back to her tiny, cheap apartment, and microwaving a cheap TV meal. "You know what? I'm not _that_ exhausted, I just decided. Lead on - as long as you don't mind the uniform and au-de-greasy spoon."

"What aroma?" Pike looked down at his somewhat disreputable looking jeans. "You don't mind my mechanic-wear, and I won't mind your diner perfume, deal?"

"Deal. Lets go."

**...**

_**Friday August 7, 1998; Sunnydale High School library; afternoon.**_

"Hey, Giles?" Faith looked up from a demonology book she was reading.

"Yes?" Giles' voice drifted out of his office.

"Is there a special boring school they send the authors of these books to for training?"

Xander snickered as Giles wandered out of the library, adjusting his glasses with a bemused look. "Why, yes, actually, there is. It's called 'Oxford'."

Faith stared at him. "Right." She sighed and looked back down, "Cambridge man, huh?"

"Why yes, how'd you guess?" Giles smirked. He removed his glasses and dangled them from one hand, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "I just know I'm going to regret asking, but how was your post, er, 'slayage' beach party a few nights back?"

Willow turned red and began giggling. Faith cut her eyes to the red-head, and back to Giles with a straight face. "Oh... wicked boring. Not much happened." She grinned, "Listened to Scooby tales, watched Cordy roast Xander... broke Willow."

"Hey!" Willow did her best to glare and lost it after a moment. Xander shook his head, reading his book with intense concentration.

"Ah. I see. Thank you." Giles nodded.

"Oh!" Cordelia exclaimed, smiling brightly. "Faith - you know your 'Little Xander' crack?"

"Yeah?" Faith looked up warily. Xander's ear tips began to turn red.

Cordelia looked at Faith with an innocent expression, then slowly ran her finger the length of spine of the demon compendium in her hands and smiled, licking her lips.

Faith lifted an eyebrow and said, "Really? Day-um!" She looked at Xander, wide-eyed, then back to Cordy. "Guess he doesn't hoist that cement with his arms, huh?"

"Oh dear lord," Giles flushed and put his glasses back on, then strode hastily back to his office as Willow turned bright red, buried her face in her book and started gasping with laughter.

"Oh god, stop," Willow said. "I was hiccuping for hours the other night!"

Xander stood up and said "Auuuuggggh! Stop that! Innocent librarian ears! No!" He started snickering and pointed at Faith and Cordelia. "You women are Evil!"

"Well, yeah," Faith said. She ran a hand through her hair, laughing, "We have to be."

"Peace, Xander," Cordelia said, laughing. She made the Scout's Honor sign, "We'll lay off the Xander Sandwich and America Tour and stop breaking Willow so she can breath again. Honest."

"That's too bad," Xander said, shoving his hands in his pockets. "I was almost starting to enjoy it." He grinned.

"I know, Doofus," Cordelia said, "Why do you think we're stopping?"

"Evil!" Xander plopped down and sprawled into his chair. "So, what's on for today, oh Slayage Mates?"

"Mates?" Faith's eyebrows raised. "He _is_ getting into the Vegas wedding thing, huh?" She frowned, "Nothing major happening I know of. If Cordy's got her mall-ratting done, and Will isn't doing nothing... short patrol, diner, then Bronze?"

"Sounds good," Cordelia nodded, "Willow?"

"I'm in," the hacker said. "The Dingos are playing there tonight." Her eyebrows drooped suddenly and she sighed, "O-on-only... without Oz." It being one of the full moon nights, Oz would be spending it in the library cage under Giles supervision.

"Pity, that," Faith said. "Hey - I discovered a vamp nest over on Willston we can take down in the day sometime soon."

"Hrrm," Cordelia gave her a speculative look. "You think we should try for that?"

Faith's eyebrows went up, "First night, you said it sounded like a good scheme?"

"No," Cordelia said. "I said it made perfect sense to me. Didn't say I thought it was a good idea." Her brow creased, and she asked, "How dangerous?" Xander and Willow watched the debate with interest.

"Small nest, I'm pretty sure," Faith stated. "Maybe eight vamps plus a leader." She grinned, "Start small, work up later. But it gets them out of circulation and makes patrols and the streets safer."

Cordelia started to say, 'And helps Faith's bankroll,' but decided against it. Instead, she gave the others a dubious but considering expression, and said, "Let's scout it? And then make a plan and see if it's workable?"

"All I'm asking," Faith smiled, nodding. "What do the rest of you think?"

Willow looked at Xander and said, slowly, "Well, if it looks like we can come up with a plan, sure?" Xander shrugged and agreed.

"Yeah, well, you know my stand on vamps," he said. "I have a position that at the end of the day, they need to be dust bunnies." Xander looked at Faith, "You remember the address?"

"Sure," Faith dug a slip of paper out of her pocket and laid it on the table. "Old house between two vacant lots, back lot up to the river."

"Ok," Willow took the paper. "I can see if there's any floor plans listed?"


	3. Chapter 2: They Make Ointments For That

**Chapter 2: They Make Ointments For That -**

_**Saturday August 8, 1998; vacant lots near vamp lair on Willston Street, night.**_

"'K, Harris?" Faith suppressed a grin as she let up on the talk button so her, err, stakeout partner could respond on his walkie-talky.

"Uh, this is Nighthawk, what ya got?" came back through the radio's little ear piece. Faith slapped her hand over her mouth trying to muffle giggles. _'Nighthawk'? _Boy took his comic books _way_ too seriously.

"Umm, oh, screw it, _Nighthawk_," she lost it and snickered. "You seeing any vamps going in or out over there?"

"Negative," there was a pause. "Just the two coming back before, nothing new."

"Five-by-five, then. Over." Faith released the button and slid down against her tree, jamming her sleeve into her mouth to stifle laughter. Knowing Xander, she'd probably just insulted him and sent him into a sulk because she couldn't take the 'code-name' thing seriously to save her life. Or, knowing Harris, he was sitting on his side of the lair jamming his arm in his mouth having a giggling fit.

Faith could bet either way. _'Frigging goofball.'_

_'Oh, shit... '_ Faith's muffled laughter died in her throat as a pair of headlights came into the end cul-de-sac and a car pulled up to the curb in front of the old house they were watching. A pair of vamps got out of the front drivers and passenger doors, the passenger hauling out a bound, gagged, and terrified looking young brunette woman by the arm. The driver opened the rear door and reached in to drag out a similarly bound young male, dragging him onto the cracked sidewalk.

"Crap, Harris, you seeing this?" Faith crouched, moving silently along the edge of the lot towards the front yard.

"Yeah. Jeeze. I'm moving up, slow, on my side."

"Wicked. You nail the one on your side - careful. Go on my shot," Faith hung the talky on her belt and crept up as close to the edge of the trees as she dared. Amazing how crisp Xander had gotten, and how fast he'd dropped the goofy stuff when it got serious. Kid shifted personae from goofball to deadly serious fast enough to make her head spin sometimes.

Faith shouldered the compound crossbow, centering the cross hairs of the bow sight on his chest. She breathed in, let it half out, and squeezed the trigger. The vamp dusted and the captive he was dragging dropped the rest of the way to the walk. She stuck her foot in the stirrup and drew back the string, working as fast and as quietly as possible.

The other vamp had just about enough time to turn towards the dust cloud of his former buddy and look around before she saw a flicker in the air following a loud 'phamp!' from Xander's side, and he dusted. The girl fell heavily to one side, sprawling half onto the dead lawn.

Faith froze, every sense extended as far as it would extend. She could almost _swear_ she could hear Harris' breathing on the other side of the house.

After a moment, a quiet voice came through her ear piece. "Think they heard it inside?"

"Quiet. Wait five and see if anyone comes out. Then go for the car and see if it's got keys - I'll watch."

"Got it. Over."

Faith waited, senses straining, counting four long minutes before moving to where she could watch the front door. After another minute, she heard/saw Xander running as quietly as he could across the lawn to the car door, leaning inside.

After a moment, he leaned back out and knelt by the car, making an 'OK' sign with his fingers.

Faith said, "Fuck it" under her breath, and ran to the car and the couple on the walk, crossbow swung to cover the house door. She opened the rear door of the sedan, then grabbed the male captive by the belt and flung him bodily into the back seat, following him with the woman and pushing the door shut as quietly as possible.

Xander was already in the drivers seat, looking pale and terrified, when she slid into the front passengers. He twisted the key in the ignition and turned even paler when the ignition ground without turning over.

"Fuck!" Faith muttered. The car started on the third try, and Xander let out a heavy breath as he put it into drive and pulled out from the curb and into the street.

Faith's heart didn't stop pounding until they were three streets away and heading towards downtown Sunnydale.

"Jeeze... " Xander let out a long, slow exhale.

"Yeah." Faith slumped into her seat and closed her eyes for a moment. She opened them, and then leaned into the back seat to remove the duct tape and bonds from the two passengers.

It took both of them and a number of blocks to calm the two former victims down, help them convince themselves that they'd been what abducted by what must've been Sunnydale's 'Gang Members on PCP', and determine that they were basically unharmed.

After letting the two kids out near the Espresso Pump, Faith shivered, and then cracked a wide grin. "Ok, Nighthawk, that ended good enough, hey?"

Xander shook his head, then snickered, "Yeah, if you call losing bladder control from terror 'good enough', I think so."

"Too much info! No one died, it's all good." Faith laughed, "What, Bronze to meet up with the others? Don't _even_ want to head back tonight: they might have seen or heard us and be hunting around the house."

"Yeah, getting stumbled on would be bad." Xander agreed. "Car. What say we drop it at the dump, and get Willow to run the license? If it's not hot... then we really need a car, we have one. If it is, no loss."

"Sounds like plan," she said. "Hike back to the Bronze."

"So... you're thinking maybe the code names are a little much?" Xander asked, that lopsided grin coming back for the first time since the car had pulled up by their stakeout.

"Naw." Faith shook her head, "They kinda grow on you after awhile." She paused for a beat, just until he started looking smug, then added, "But if they start burning and itching too, they're gone."

"I hear there's an ointment for that," Xander quipped. They met each other's eyes and dissolved in laughter.

**...**

_**Saturday August 8, 1998; Los Angeles, Pike's apartment, night.**_

"This was actually kinda good," Buffy said. Pike looked up, smiling, coming back up after putting Elena to sleep.

"Surprised, still?" He laughed. "Bachelor survival mechanism."

"No no!" Buffy objected. "Well, yeah, still a big wigsome over the whole 'Pike knows how to cook?' thing, but more a 'I was starting to think I'd never have home cooking again' surprisy thing."

"Hah! Hence the 'survival mechanism'," Pike stated. "Plus, it's useful for getting chicks," he smirked.

Buffy snickered and said, "Ok, now you sound like Xander. Only without the stammering and blushing and head ducking."

"Xander?" Pike asked, curious.

"Ah," Buffy frowned, biting her mental tongue. A mild rush of homesickness hit her suddenly. "Sunnydale friend. Except he can't cook and he was doing the datey thing with Cordelia last I saw him and I'm babbling now so I'll shut up."

"And he's a head ducker," Pike observed, laughing. "That can either help or hinder with the chick getting, depending."

"And now you're making fun," Buffy accused, aiming her finger at him. She giggled, reflecting, "Although he _did_ get Cordelia, not that she likes to admit it, so you _may_ have a point. And Cordelia's one of the prettiest girls in Sunnydale, so... "

"I've been accused of being smarter than I look, but not often," Pike grinned again. Buffy remembered why she used to like it so much when he did that.

She looked away, not wanting to go there right now. "I thought you swore you weren't ever coming back to LA after the Hemery thing?"

"Wasn't, but... " Pike shrugged, still smiling. "After," he paused and looked away, then continued, "Still know people here. And there's family here and friends to help with Elena while I'm working. And it's familiar. Kind of a good thing sometimes."

Buffy nodded. "Sometimes. Sometimes it's what you don't need." She glanced toward the bedroom hallway. "Very cute kid. She's... kinda quiet for almost four though, isn't she?"

"Uh," Pike's expression clouded briefly and Buffy winced. "She has been ever since... "

"And I just put my foot in again. I'm sorry."

"Not your fault," Pike smiled, and spread his hands, looking down at them. "She was there. And you're one of the few people who know what that's like."

"Oh yeah. _Major_ sucky," Buffy nodded. "Not many people you can talk to about it, either."

"No. Not," he agreed. "Are we having a moment?"

"You mean, a cathartic mutual shary moment kind of thing?" Buffy glanced away, then shook her head. "Not. Not yet anyway. Sorry."

Pike nodded back, looking down at his ring. "Good, probably. Just checking," he smiled again.

Catching the look, Buffy smiled back. "You must've have loved her a lot."

"Did." He looked away, frowning, "Whole world kind of thing, you know?"

"Oh yeah," Buffy said emphatically. "I had... this thing like that. A guy, and then he went evil - whole Hellmouthy thing - and he got kind of caught between me and the slaying. And it was bad, kinda like that must've been." She looked at his ring and nodded.

"Hence the leaving Sunnydale and coming back to LA as 'Anne'," Pike said. "Right."

"And the not wanting to be all talky gal about it, yeah," Buffy said, a wry grin on her lips.

"I can relate," Pike stated. He got up and went over to the TV table and shelves. "Want to watch a movie?"

"Oh gods yes," Buffy said fervently. She colored bright red suddenly, "Er, I mean... sure?" She added in a weak tone.

Bursting out laughing, Pike said, "No problem. We have a broad selection here, as long as you don't mind picking from a grand total of twelve... "

**...**

_**Saturday August 8, 1998; The Bronze, night.**_

"Hey Faith," Cordelia grinned and waved Faith and Xander over. "Hey there," she leaned into Xander when he slid into the booth and gave him a deep kiss.

"Wow. Whatever I did, I'm thinking I'm gonna write it down so I can do it more often," Xander grinned. he looked around and spotted Willow doing a somewhat dispirited version of the Dingo-groupie bit at the stage.

"It's that whole Boy Slayer thing kind of turning me on," Cordelia smirked at him. "The black fatigues look works for you."

"Does it now?"

"You bet, Nighthawk." She leaned in for another long, tonsil searching kiss, running her hands under Xander's fatigue shirt.

Faith laughed and tossed her hair back. "Ok," she said, "Get a room, you two, or we'll have to spray."

"What?" Cordelia arched an eyebrow. She grinned and looked at Xander speculatively. "I could grab him by the belt and drag him off for the night," she put a finger on her chin and looked thoughtful.

Faith laughed, and Xander managed to blush and look hopeful and startled at the same time. "Hey!" Faith said, "No infringing on the trademarks."

"Rats," Cordelia shrugged. "How'd the house sitting go?"

"Interesting," Xander said. "Ten vamps and what Faith thinks is probably lead vamp left at sundown from both ends of the house. Vamp leader and two minions came back, and then two more later."

"Then a pair came back with a couple of take home meals and we had to dust them and scramble like hell to get out of there with the two kids," Faith finished. "Leaving nine."

"Ouch," Cordelia's eyes widened slightly. "They go after you?"

"No sign of it," Xander shook his head. "Faith thinks they may have been in the basement or something and not heard the crossbows or the car pulling in and out again."

"How'd you guys do?" Faith asked. "You got a few, they might figure the missing ones got dusted hunting."

"Four," Cordelia said. "In various places." She sounded a bit proud that she, Oz, and Willow had managed that on their own.

"Cool," Xander leaned in and gave her a deep kiss. "The Girl Slayer thing is kind of hot on you, too." He looked thoughtful for a minute. "Y'know.. if they do this every night, we could go in, wait, and dust them as they came back."

Faith nodded, "But we might have to sit waiting all night to pick them off. Huh."

"No _way_ am I going to sit hunkered down or whatever you call it in some vamp rat trap all night long waiting," Cordelia put in.

"Then we watch again Monday night, and go in late Tuesday morning?" Xander said, considering.

"Works," Faith said. "Give 'em a night to relax again first."

"Hey guys," Willow slid into the booth next to Faith's chair. "What's up?"

"Planning the Junior Commando mission," Cordelia said. "The cuckoo flies at midnight." Everyone stared at her blankly. "Fine!" Cordelia threw up her hands, "I'll leave the quips to Nighthog here - his aren't funny either, but no one looks at _him_ like he's an idiot when he does it."

"Umm, Cordy?" Xander looked at her gravely. "_Everyone_ looks at me like an idiot when I crack a joke."

"He's right, we do," Faith said.

"You're not helping, Faith." Xander rolled his eyes.

Faith cut her eyes sideways to Willow and remarked, "Wasn't trying to."

Willow started giggling, waving an apology at Xander and covering her mouth with her hand. She recovered, folding her hands primly, and said, "It's ok, Cordy. We have Xander for comedy relief. You're good at... other things."

"Like?"

"Ummm... well, there's... ummm... oh! And there's... "

Cordelia drummed her nails on the table impatiently. "I'm. Still. Waiting." Willow squeaked and tried to hide behind Faith.

"You're the Man when it comes to terrorizing Red with one well aimed glare," Faith suggested.

"Oh please. An anorexic mouse could terrorize Willow," Cordelia said. Willow's head popped out from behind Faith's shoulder with a glare. "Or a frog." Willow squeaked again, her eyes going wide.

"Now look what you've done," Xander shook his head. "I'll be on the phone with her all night so the tadpoles won't get her in her sleep."

Faith folded her hands against her cheek, and tilted her head, eyelashes batting at him. "Our Hero."

"Ahem," Willow straightened and leaned forward. "So, what are you wacky kids doing tomorrow?"

"Stylist, manicure, have lunch with Aurora, then I'm going to run up to Santa Barbara with Faith in the afternoon," Cordelia stated. "After that? Who knows."

Faith shrugged, "Yeah. Me... got training with Giles in the morning." She leaned forward enthusiastically, "He's got this thing with a blindfold he wants to try. Sounds wicked kinky," she grinned. Willow started, then turned beet red.

"Ack! Bad, bad mental image. No Giles kink!" Xander shuddered.

"Oh relax, Doofus," Cordelia said, yawning. "It's some blind fighting training thing. I heard him talking to her about it."

"Yeah," Faith leaned back, grinning, and stretched. "But you guys are so easy. It's supposed to force me to extend my senses while he hits at me with stuff and I block it."

"Oh! So in case you get vamp dust in the eyes or injured or something in a fight," Willow said, nodding. "Useful."

"Boring. Already did this with my old watcher," Faith yawned, but she couldn't hide a certain pleased gleam in her eyes. "After that, thought I'd go lean on Willy to see what's shaking around town til C's done with her things. Why, Will?"

"Oh, because Mrs. Summers invited us all to dinner tomorrow night," Willow said. "I said I'd let you guys know. She wants to meet Faith and see the rest of us."

"Huh?" Faith frowned. "B's mom wants to meet me? Why?"

"Uh, I don't know?"

"Oh, no big deal. Joyce likes us all to have dinner there once a week or so, if we can," Cordelia said, with a shrug. "I think it gives her some way to stay close to Buffy if she stays close with Buffy's friends."

"Yeah," Xander nodded. "Surrogate mothering. And she's a great cook."

"Ah dunno," Faith said. She scowled, "Sounds wicked uncomfortable to me. What, 'Hi Mrs. S! I'm the new slayer taking your daughter's place! Sorry she flaked out on you, but... '"

"Oh, don't worry about it," Cordelia slapped Faith on the arm. "Joyce is cool - she's probably the only parent in Sunnydale that's not a complete waste of space. She'll love you to death."

"That's what I'm worried about," Faith grumbled. She slumped lower in her chair.

"Relax, Faith, it'll be fun," Xander said. "We didn't steer you wrong on that beach thing, did we? And that was, what, wracked entertaining?"

"It's _'wicked'_, idiot," a smile tugged at the corners of Faith's lips anyway.

"He is a wicked idiot, but that's _besides_ the point," Cordelia stated. "It'll be fine. Joyce will fuss over us, we'll get stuffed, Xander will crack lame jokes, Willow will carry most of the conversation talking about how she's looking forward to school starting and about Oz's band, Oz will... well, Oz won't say much. If you're lucky, Xander will tease Joyce into breaking out the family albums, and you'll see lots of Buffy's embarrassing baby pics to blackmail her with when she comes back."

"Oh, so it's got like, practical benefits, huh?" Faith shook her head. "What the fuck, count me in." Jeeze. _Great._ Sounded like she was getting dragged deeper and deeper in with these people whether she wanted to be or not. She had a thought and grinned wickedly, "So, these albums - there any baby Speedo Xander pics?"


	4. Chapter 3: Cheer and Kibbitzing

**Chapter 3: Cheer and Kibbitzing on Revello Drive -**

_**Sunday August 9, 1998; Willy's Alibi Room, Sunday afternoon.**_

"Willy," Faith nodded to the greasy bartender as she came in. Willy looked at her nervously and wiped his hands on a bar rag. Faith smirked, "Relax, Willy. Social call, not here to bend you any."

She was a bit surprised to see that, other than a pair of scaley looking demons in suits - wearing glasses yet - sitting at the very back reading the Sunday rag, she and Willy were the only occupants.

Willy relaxed slighty, probably as much as he ever did, and came over to her end of the bar, "Well, that's a surprise, Slayer. What can I get you?"

"Beer? Bottle - ain't drinking anything from a tap in this place," Faith told him. She slid onto a stool.

"Got some ID?"

Faith just looked at him, "Yup."

Willy waited expectantly until it was past obvious that Faith wasn't going to actually produce any, and made a face. "Sheesh, I have to ask, ok?" He slid a Corona across the bar top to her.

"You mean you have a liquor license?" Faith popped the top off of the bottle, "What you put in the blanks, 'overpriced yak bile salesman'?"

"Oh, ha ha!" Willy shook his head, disgustedly, "Have you know, I run a legit business here - tax number and everything. I'm completely on the u- you're not buying this, are you?"

"Not a single word," Faith said cheerfully. "Why am I almost the only one here?"

"Demon bar? Early Sunday afternoon? I'm lucky the roaches showed up."

"All in church, huh?" Faith smirked, then her eyes narrowed when Willy didn't grin or laugh. "You're shitting me?"

"Hey - some of 'em like to see how the other half live?" Willy threw his hands up, "Whatta I know from religion?" The little bartender shook his head, "So, anything on your mind, or you just come in to watch me sweat wondering when the other coin drops?"

Faith snickered, then said quietly, "Naw. Aside from seeing if you have anything else on those vamp nests you're selling me, wanted to ask you something you might know?"

"You mean, something that doesn't involve snitching and me getting beat up or threatened?" Willy's eyes widened. "This I gotta freaking hear. It's a first." He motioned to the office and went through the shabby door.

Faith rolled her eyes, following him "Har. Comedian." She narrowed her eyes, "Ok, so here's the thing." Faith sprawled into the only other chair with her leg dangling over the arm. "Figure there's gotta be something in this area a Slayer can do to turn a buck. Nothing criminal, no working for demons or vamps, no leg breaking, but something that your normal, like, contractor can't do, y'know?"

Willy stared at her, "You want me to recommend a job to you? Like, a job job?"

"Oh, for... " Faith gave the ceiling a pained look, "What, you think leather grows on trees? Or I have a trust fund or some shit?"

"Just askin'! Sheesh," Willy held his hand up, "Not like the other slayer ever comes to _me_ for employment advice, Jeeze. Lemme think." He rummaged though his desk drawer for a bit, "Ok, maybe... so, here's the deal," He looked across the desk at her. "There's like this magic store over in Santa Barbara, they'll buy, like components and rare stuff sometimes, or artifacts."

Faith picked up the card he slid over to her, glancing at it, "Lirio's?" She narrowed her eyes again, "No end-the-world types and shit? Said legit, right?"

"Naw, naw, nothing like that, Slayer. Real deal, not a charlatan, and she doesn't do black - no end of the world crap," Willy gave her a disgusted look, "What, you think I'm some sort of slime ball? Don't answer that."

"Rhetorical question, huh?" Faith smirked. She shook her head and dug grudgingly into a pocket.

"Naw, keep it," Willy smirked, "This one's a freebie. On the house because of the freaking novelty of it."

"You're a peach, no matter what the rest say about you," Faith pocketed the card and strolled out. She noticed the two newspaper reading demons at the back were watching her come out, while carefully giving the appearance of not doing so.

She thought about going back there to suggest they take a picture, it lasts longer, and see if they wanted to rumble, but she decided against it and left. Looked too much like scaly accountants to make for a good fight, anyway.

**...**

_**Sunday August 9, 1998; 1630 Revello Drive, late evening.**_

Joyce Summers turned out to be a cheerful, albeit a slightly tired looking, dark blonde woman in her early forties, just a bit taller than Cordelia. Within a few minutes of her opening the door and ushering them in, it became clear to Faith that Mrs. Summers considered all of the little group of teens her surrogate kids, not merely Buffy's friends.

Within about five minutes of being introduced, Faith found herself carefully examined, measured, and then blithely accepted and included as 'one of Joyce's kids', right along side the others. It left Faith blinking and more than just a bit bemused as she was swept along by Joyce turning Xander loose to his own devices along with Willow (with a murmured "sweet, but they're a disaster in a kitchen"), and herself, Oz, and Cordelia pressed into service to set table, finish salad, and carry dishes - Cordelia maintaining a non-stop string of obviously proforma chatter and complaints the entire while.

The contrast between this and her own mom's slurred "Hope like Hell you found something to eat because I'm not feeding your damn' friends" had Faith's head spinning from the surrealism overdose. It was like she'd fallen through a looking glass into Happy Days - she kept expecting Ritchie and the Fonz to wander in any moment.

A full table of food wiped out everything but awe at the enormous - to her - home cooked spread set in the center of the big round table.

"I wasn't sure exactly how many to expect, so I kinda prepared for the worst plus Xander," Joyce remarked. Xander hid a grin and heaped mashed potatoes on his plate, covering them with gravy. "More fried chicken, Faith?"

"Uh... " Faith swallowed hastily. "No, err, mamn. Not yet, thanks."

Joyce nodded and glanced around, making certain everyone else was managing, "So, you're a Slayer, too, like Buffy? Isn't that interesting!" She smiled, "Do you like it?"

"Not quite like Buffy, I don't think, no," Faith said carefully, shaking her head. "And, yeah - I love it. Best thing that ever happened to me."

"Really?" Joyce frowned slightly, "Not that I found out about it until recently, but I got the impression Buffy hated it."

Shrugging, Faith accepted a plate of corn-on-the-cob from Oz, and passed it on after taking several, "Dunno, never met her. Know it's like nothing I've ever known before. What's not to like?"

"Haven't heard it put like that before. Why do you love it?" She set a bowl of candied yams near Faith.

"Well... when I'm fighting, it's like the whole world goes away and I only know one thing: that I'm gonna win and they're gonna lose. I like that feelin'." Faith scooped some yams onto her plate along with another helping of chicken, after looking for approval from Joyce. "It's like, the biggest rush in the world, you know? And I can bench press a Harley and snatch the shell off of Mr. Miyagi's hand before he can blink. Power, speed, and super-senses in a five-foot five inch package." She grinned, "What kid doesn't wanna be a superhero when they grow up?"

"Not to mention my favorite: naked alligator wrestling," Xander put in. Faith didn't have to look to know the double 'whap!' was Cordelia and Willow soundly thumping Harris on the back of the head. "ow."

"New theme, Harris, remember?" Cordelia said. "Drool in."

"But - I _love_ that story. They should film it and show it every year at Christmas," Xander protested, grinning.

Joyce smiled at the byplay, "Sounds like a healthy attitude, to me." She passed over another plate, "More fries?"

"Oh yeah," Faith scraped some onto her plate, "Thanks, Mrs. S - this is, like, great, you know?"

"It's really no problem, Faith, any time," Joyce smiled, and let her eat for awhile, turning to chatter with Cordelia about shopping and Willow and Oz about school preparations and bands.

"I'm stuffed," Xander announced about a half hour later, pushing his chair back.

"Probably a good thing," Faith said. She eyed the scant remnants of what had been a huge amount of fried chicken and assorted side-dishes, and shook her head. "Umm, didn't mean to eat you out of house and home, Mrs. S."

"Nonsense," Joyce said. "That's why I fixed it and invited you all." She paused, "Did you have enough?"

"Oh yeah," Faith leaned back, stretching, and resisted the need to belch with a serious effort.

"Good," Joyce nodded. "Why don't you three go into the living room, and hang until until I can get dessert out?" She drafted Willow and Xander to help with clearing the table and dishes and shoo'd Cordy, Faith, and Oz into the living room.

"Good thing I left room - otherwise I'd be in the gym for a month after this," Cordelia said, on their way out.

"Ugh. You didn't warn me there'd be dessert," Faith complained. "Think I'm gonna bust." She was drawn immediately to a mantle and side tables full of framed photos, and wandered over to examine them.

"So, uh, the infamous Buffy?" Faith indicated a framed glamor shot photo of a thin faced, pretty, and very blonde girl with hazel eyes dominating the.. shrine, was the only word she could think of. With the exception of several family photos showing Joyce, or a younger Buffy with Joyce and a smiling, handsome man in them, and a number of group photos. Almost all of the photos were of the small blonde at various ages.

It made Faith vaguely uncomfortable.

"The very one," Oz said. "In full infamousness and everything."

"Ah, the Wall of Remembrance," Cordelia said. There was a tone to her voice that Faith couldn't read. "Joyce must've gotten more pictures out since the last time we were here."

"Yeah," Willow said, coming over to Cordelia from the direction of the kitchen "Oh - look: here's all of us together from just before the Cultural Celebration Dance."

Going by the photo, Buffy Summers was even shorter than Faith, who had to look up slightly to meet the eyes of the taller Cordelia. All she said was, "Boy toy looks hot in a suit." She nudged Cordy suggestively, pointing at Xander. "Who's the other babe?"

"Hmm? Oh - that's Ampata: the life sucking mummy girl that Doofus took to the dance," Cordelia said.

"She's kinda hot for a mummy," Faith stated. "So, she try to drain Xander in more than the normal way?"

Willow choked, "Oh, yeah. Yet another of Xander's life threatening affairs with evil demon women." Willow carefully didn't look at Cordelia when she said that. Cordelia cut her eyes at the red head, narrowing them slightly.

"Except that Ampata wasn't really all that evil, just hungry," Cordelia remarked, casually. "She did try to drain Willow, so she couldn't have been all bad." To Willow's wide eyed outraged look, Cordelia returned a broad smile that had 'gotcha back' written all over it.

"Harsh," Oz remarked.

Willow frowned and Faith shook her head, "Now kitties, play nice or I'll get the hose." She put an arm around Willow in an awkward comforting fashion, "Shouldn't play on the Queen's court, Red - even _I_ don't go there." Her infectious grin brought an answering one from Willow, who ducked her head.

"Mrowl," Cordelia said, but she did send Willow an apologetic look.

Joyce and Xander's entrance carrying dessert trays forestalled any more catty exchanges and got Faith away from the fascinating but uncomfortable study of her absent, yet unmistakably clear rival. It was nice to be able to finally put a face to the ghost presence in the little group.

Following dessert, Cordelia volunteered to help Joyce clear the dessert plates as the others settled in to argue about movie choices. Shortly after, Faith got bathroom directions from Xander and headed through the dining room en route to the hall. Her Slayer enhanced ears had few problems picking up Mrs. Summers and Cordy's voices from the kitchen as they chatted while setting things to rights.

"I really like this girl, Cordelia," Joyce was saying. Faith leaned against the hallway door frame, doing her best to look like she was studying an art print on the wall in case anyone else came this way.

"Faith? Good," Cordelia said. "She's surprisingly easy to like, in a kind of like, prickly and hostile fashion, of course. And _no_ dress sense." Faith grinned.

"Cordelia," Joyce's tone had a laughing warning in it. "Stop that. You're too sweet a girl to always hide it behind that mean face you like to wear."

"_Please_ don't tell anyone, Joyce," Cordelia laughed. "You _never_ get the bloodstains out of Versace when you have to hide a body."

"Shush," Faith heard the sound of a gentle swat, then Joyce saying, "I watched you subtly make certain she was included in the conversations. It's nice to see you and Faith as friends. Even if it _does_ ruin your reputation as an Ice Queen."

"Hey, us outsiders have to stick together," Cordelia said simply. Then she got that arch tone that Faith recognized as the snarky, teasing voice that Cordelia used to distance herself from uncomfortable compliments and attention. "Besides - it is _so_ the obligation of a _Chase_ to show les majesty on occasion. It makes us so much more, like, _human_ when we have to destroy the little folk."

"Right. You keep believing that, Cordelia," Joyce laughed. "Your secret is safe with me." There was a pause, "Do you know how Faith is getting along? Is that... _Watcher_, Mr. Giles seeing after her?" Ouch. Obviously some disapproval of Giles in that quarter.

"Um, no to the first, because Faith likes her privacy, and I won't pry," Cordelia said, "And to the second, Giles is doing his best, I think, but he's distracted over Buffy, and the Tweed Weenie Brigade isn't being any help, I gather." Another pause, and then Cordelia added, "She has money and a place to stay."

"Good." Joyce muttered something that sounded like a vile imprecation on Watchers. "I swear, I don't know what gets into middle aged men using a teenage girl to fight their wars for them, but - " Faith heard someone get up in the living room at that point, and slid hastily down the hall to the restroom.

When she came back out, she found everyone back in the living room, apparently having settled on a DVD of "Big Trouble in Little China" to watch and kibitz at. She settled onto the floor next to Cordelia, who was sitting with her head and shoulders propped against the legs of an armchair sprawling Xander, one arm resting along Xander's thigh and knee. Faith grinned and proceeded to relax and enjoy helping the two snarky brunettes MST3k the Kurt Russel flick.

**...**

Mrs. Summers saw them to the door after the movie ended, and watched them mill about the front porch getting ready to leave. "Faith?" She said.

"I enjoyed it, Mrs. S," Faith turned back to her, "Thanks."

"Oh, you're welcome," Joyce smiled. "I like to have you kids over - it makes the house less empty. Any time."

"Uh, yeah." Not knowing what to say to that, Faith studied her boot and scuffed a toe against the stone porch surfacing.

"You know," Joyce said casually. "I have a guest room here. You'd be more than welcome to use it if you'd like."

Faith looked up, jaw open, and saw only an unexpected concern in the older woman's eyes. "Naw. It'd be imposing an' all," she said.

"Nonsense," Joyce shook her head, "That other girl, Kendra stayed with us while she was in town. If it would be an imposition, I wouldn't have offered."

"Yeah, guess so." Faith looked at Mrs. Summers for a minute, then said, "Naw. I don't think it'd be a good idea."

"All right. Can I ask why not?"

"Look... " Faith shook her head, "I know you miss your daughter, but I ain't - 'm not her. And when Buffy comes back, don't you think she'd be a little ticked if another Slayer's moved into her life, Watcher, _and_ her home while she was gone?"

"Probably." Joyce sighed. "All right. But the offer is open if you change your mind." She shook her head, "I know you're not my daughter, Faith, and your privacy and freedom to come and go wouldn't change."

Faith shook her head. She gave Joyce a piercing look, "You're for real, aren't you," she said.

"I like to think so." Joyce smiled again and said, "I think your friends are waiting for you." Faith nodded and went down the steps to join the small crowd, Joyce closing the door behind her.

"We decided to wait and walk the Mighty Nighthawk home before coming back for the cars," Cordelia said, her arm around Xander's waist. "Hate for him to trip in the dark and break his leg all alone - we'd have to shoot him tomorrow."

"Hey!" Xander squeezed her slightly, grinning. "I'm not a horse."

"Dunno, Mr. Ed," Faith grinned. "Cordy implied otherwise."

Xander sighed, "I have a host of friends, and all of them want to humiliate me."

"It's because we love you, Xand," Willow said, brightly. "And because of that high pitched squeak you make when you're outraged."

"But replacing nearby windows, no fun," Oz said. He glanced to Faith, "You with?"

"Sure, why not." She took Xander's other arm and fell in with them beside Willow and Oz.

After a block or so, Willow looked over, "Why the scowly face, Faith?"

"Huh?" Faith looked up. She kicked at the street surface. "Dunno. I... just don't get it."

"What's that?" Xander glanced down at her.

"Buffy," Faith sighed.

"Why's that?" Willow asked, her tone puzzled.

"What do you mean?" Faith pulled away from Xander and Cordy, Willow and Oz, and gestured to them, "This." She pointed back up Revello to the Summers house, "_That_." Faith stuck her hands in her back pockets and fell back beside Xander and Cordelia. "I never had anything like that. I've never _known_ anything like that."

"But... your mom and dad... ?" Willow's eyes widened, and she caught Xander's warning head shake far too late to stop.

"My mom?" Faith lengthened her stride and spun to walk backwards facing them. "Dad split when I was a kid. You wanna know what my mom did for dinner when I was little, Red? Huh?" She was suddenly blazingly angry for no reason she could understand, and far too frustrated to hold it in.

Willow nodded numbly, and Cordelia bit her lip, her eyes wide.

"None of your fucking business, but I'll _tell_ you anyway." Faith shook her head, throwing up her hands. "_My_ 'mom' got fired for being a souse when I was ten and started bringing home tricks for cash. 'Time I was eleven, I wanted food, clothes, or stuff for school, I was getting it myself any way I could. I been taking care of myself for _years_ now." She aimed a finger at Willow. "I'd of fucking _killed_ for a mom like that. And B has an _issue_ and just splits on all this? Fucking Christ." She pushed her hair back with both hands, angrily.

Willow's eyes had gotten rounder and rounder as Faith talked until she looked like an anime character. "But... "

"Yeah, yeah. She had to stick a blade in her vamp boytoy and boo hoo." Faith shook her head, "Wah. Goddamned Watcher is running all over the West Coast hunting for her and barely sleeping. Buffy's mom has a freaking photo _shrine_ to her and she doesn't know if her kid's _dead_ or not - and she _still_ takes care of us becuz she knows that you guy's folks are kinda absent."

Oz said, mildly, "My folks are kinda cool."

Faith quirked a half grin, "Well, that's one for five, guy." Faith' eyes narrowed, "You guys - _you_ guys are risking getting killed all summer doing B's job. Think the cheerleader _really_ wanted to drop Mexico to hunt vamps?"

"Enough, Faith," Cordelia said, softly, "We get the picture. We know." Xander nodded.

"But but... " Willow shook her head, "But didn't you abandon your job in Boston to come here?" Willow saw the comment strike home, then the look in Faith's eyes that followed it and squeaked.

Faith growled softly, then spun on her heels and headed down the street. "Don't even _go_ there, Red," trailed out behind her.

Cordelia release Xander's waist with a squeeze, and lengthened her stride and caught up with her, falling in beside her. "Willow didn't mean anything, you know."

Faith grunted, looking ahead.

"You probably traumatized her for life," Cordelia remarked. The slight grin to her voice caused Faith to cut her eyes in the cheerleader's direction. "It took me a _lifetime_ of practice to learn how to do that."

Faith shook her head, then smiled, reluctantly. "She asked. I told her. Now she knows."

"Bit harsh, but I can't blame you," Cordelia said, softly. "Probably the only thing that could get past the Buffy worship deal."

"Yeah... " Faith groused, "Still shouldn't have done it." She could hear a _very_ animated, whispered discussion going on behind them.

"Naw. Willow will deal," Cordelia said. "She'll either process it, or go into denial, but she'll deal." She shook her head. "It's you I'm worried about."

"Why? I'm freaking _fine_, can't you tell?"

"It's kind of naked out when you drop the mask like that, isn't it."

"Huh." Faith nodded. She said reluctantly, "Guess you guys aren't going to want me around now."

"What?" Cordelia's eyes widened. "Oh, _hell_ no. Don't you dare. I'm _not_ losing the only other person around who's not afraid to speak their mind honestly. I'll hunt you down and break your kneecaps if you flake out."

"I can beat you up," Faith reminded her.

Cordelia sent the thousand watt smile her way, "Not if I tranq you first." She looked around, "We're here." They stopped and waited for the others to catch up.

"Home sweet... ok, well, home, anyway." Xander said. He gave Faith and Cordelia a half grin that didn't hide the searching look, or the concern in his eyes. "You two going to be ok?" Faith noticed that Oz and Willow stopped a little ways off.

"Sure," Cordelia pressed up against him and gave him a deep kiss, then broke away.

"Yeah," Faith nodded. "Laters."

The walk back to the Summers' place was quiet. Willow kept throwing sidelong glances at Faith that Faith refused to notice. Finally, Oz and Willow climbed into Oz's van and backing out, drove off.

"I think Willow hates me now," Faith remarked.

"No. I think she's scared of you," Cordelia said. "Willow has problems dealing with things that refuse to fit in her worldview. She can't make you fit any more." Cordelia sighed, and shook her head, "Look - the hell with Willow, and with Buffy. You want to stay over at my place tonight?"

Faith scowled, "Don't need anyone to keep me company so I won't freak again," she said.

"I do," Cordelia replied. The simple, honest loneliness under the words took Faith's defenses down. "We can scarf ice cream, raid Daddy's wine cabinet, try on my new Frederick's stuff, and make up scandalous stories about everyone we saw in Santa Barbara today. Snicker at how far Xander's tongue would loll out if he could watch."

A grin twitched at the corners of Faith's lips, "And make out?" She waggled her eyebrows.

A musical laugh was startled out of Cordelia, "Don't push your luck," she said.

"I'll wear you down eventually, you know." Faith grinned, "Sure, why not."


	5. Chapter 4: English I Have Trouble With

**Chapter 4: It's **_**English**_** I Have Trouble With -**

_**Monday August 10, 1998; Chase Manor, noonish.**_

Faith's eyes opened and she tensed, glancing around without moving before relaxing again. The sunlight, comfortable mattress, lack of sex sounds through thin walls, and unfamiliar warmth of a body snuggled next to her, half across her chest, had somewhat freaked her out for a moment.

The spill of dark chestnut hair across her chest and waist brought back where she was. It took a second or two for the disorientation to pass and her to have a vague memory of too much wine and easy conversation followed by both of them sprawling out in Cordelia's bed and fall asleep watching late night cable.

Faith frowned, then shook her head, grinning. She stretched and yawned silently, not really wanting to move yet. Cordelia muttered something, then rolled over, yawning herself, and opened her eyes. The cheerleader blinked at Faith, shook her head, then grinned and propped herself up on one elbow, yawning again.

"Nothing happened, honest," Faith said earnestly. "And I _swear_ I thought she was eighteen, anyway."

Cordelia laughed. "I know. And I am eighteen, or close enough." She sat up, "Good morning."

"Morning." Faith stretched again, grinning up at the cheerleader. "Ok, I'm thinking Daddy's gonna have a cow when he sees his wine cabinet."

"As if! I doubt he'll even notice," Cordelia said. She reached across Faith to snag the remote and clicked off the TV. "First dibs on the bathroom."

Watching Cordelia climb out of bed and bounce up, jiggling under her t-shirt, Faith had a sudden memory of soft flesh pressed into her own chest, waking up, and her eyes widened slightly. "Damn - those puppies are real!"

"Well, of course! You don't think the surgeon's art is up to creating a body like this, do you?" She headed into the master bath, pulling the door shut behind her.

Faith leaned over and took a couple of bottled waters out of the small fridge built into the underside of the bedside table. She shook her head. Man - this _room_ was bigger than half the motel she was staying in. When Cordelia came back out, she handed over one of the bottles and climbed out to make her own trip.

When she returned, the other girl was sitting cross legged on the bed and brushing out her long hair, water bottle between her legs. "Aspirin on the vanity if you need one," Cordelia suggested.

"I'm good. Take more than we had to get me drunk, much less hungover," Faith stated. She plopped down on her side of the bed, leaning back against the headboard sitting up. She watched Cordelia appreciatively as she brushed.

Cordelia shook her head, smiling. "I'm not bi, you know. And I'm glad nothing happened," she said in a matter of fact voice.

"Well, yeah." Faith said. "I should have headed for the couch, but I kinda fell asleep." She added, hesitantly, "And I really suck at this kind of next morning talk." Faith hesitated, then asked, "But it doesn't freak you that I am, and you know I think you're hot?"

"No worries," Cordelia shook her hair out. "Just wanted to make sure you know the score. And you're ok with it."

"I'm cool," Faith waved it off. She grinned then, wickedly. "But leave me my fantasy life, please."

"Hah! You and that horndog, Xander," Cordelia said, laughing. "I swear - you and him should be together, not me and him."

"Naw, I'd break him," Faith said, laughing back. "'Sides, you two are great together."

"I wish," Cordelia said, sobering slightly. "He's going to wake up and figure out we really don't click except for the fantastic kissing and making out. Or Willow will lever him away. Or his inability to believe he's really a fantastic guy - for a geek mind you - will get him and he'll do something idiotic I'll have to kill him for."

"What?" Faith's eyes widened. "Man... Ok, you guys snark at each other like a sitcom, and he ogles everything that moves, but he's so into you he can't see straight."

"I know. And that's what makes it suck."

"Bullshit. If I were into relationships, I'd grab both of you and hang on for dear life until you decided bi wasn't bad, and unconventional families were the way to swing," Faith shook her head, and pushed her hair back with both hands. "You're so into him _you_ can't see straight - nail that sucker down."

Cordelia lifted her eyebrows, then shook her head. She changed the subject, "Better than last night?"

"Huh?" Faith slipped back onto the track after a moment and caught up with the break in topics, "Oh yeah. Needed this, thanks."

"Didn't even _know_ you needed this, I'll bet," Cordelia said, teasingly.

Faith scowled. "Sometimes, I could kick your ass. You don't know when not to push."

"No. I know when _to_ push, and when not to look like I am," Cordelia stated, bluntly.

"And you know that how, exactly?" Faith said, starting to smile despite herself.

"Practice and keen observation skills."

"Right." Faith shook her head, hiding a smile. "Ok, yeah. Never had this either, really," she unbent a bit. She found she felt too damned good for a change to want to maintain her customary wariness - for just a bit.

"Good. But watch the learning curve - those hairpins are, like, a _bitch_."

"You're something else, girl," Faith stretched, relaxing. She could change uncomfortable subjects too, "Got any food?"

"Hah." Cordelia shook her head, "Ok, Xanderette. You grab the shower, and I'll take the tub. After we clean up and get dressed, we'll go raid the kitchen."

"Word." As she got off the bed, Faith suggested, "Hey! Wanna call Xander and both heavy breathe at him after telling him we spent the night together... ?"

**...**

_**From the personal Journals of Rupert Giles, Watcher:**_

_My morning routine today was interrupted by an early phone call from Mrs. Summers, Buffy's mother. I have had little contact with the woman since the day, shortly following the Acathla incident, when she stormed into the library with a note from Buffy demanding to know what I might be able to tell her about everything from Buffy's slaying status to Spike to Kendra's death and the (fortuitously and subsequently canceled) police investigation into Buffy's involvement in Kendra's murder. Her comments at the time regarding my "allowing" (as if I had had the power to forbid in actuality) Buffy's and Angelus' relationship were deservedly scathing towards me._

_Since then, our interactions have been limited to my infrequent, er, lack of progress reports regarding my ongoing search for her daughter, and her inquiries. I must say that I find it difficult to regret our lack of frequent interactions. Not, may I hasten to add, from any dislike of Joyce Summers - she seems a fine, if fairly clueless woman at times - but rather, because she asks questions that I find it difficult or uncomfortable to answer. Additionally - I find it near impossible to object in good conscience to her heatedly stated opinions that an organization of grown men should be ashamed of using a teen aged girl to fight their secret wars for them._

_It leaves me feeling rather scurrilous to secretly admit that, despite all my training and indoctrination into the necessities of utilizing the Slayer, basic self-honesty forces me to quite agree with her. Travers, no doubt, would have me shot, were he to read this personal journal, for that admission alone._

_Be that as it may, in this instance it seems that she invited Miss Rosenberg to extend an invitation to Faith and the other 'Scoobies' to dinner at the Summers residence. An encounter that left Mrs. Summers with a favorable impression of Faith, and a deep concern, to put it mildly, of how I was going about seeing after young Faith's welfare. I cannot fault her for her good intentions, even though my nerves were strained to the breaking point at times during the conversation. I can assure any posthumous readers of these diaries that yes, my parents were __quite__ married before my conception, thank you._

_I must remember to find some way to subtly commend Faith for handling the rather delicate situation with Buffy's mother with some courtesy and aplomb. Especially given what must have been an extremely uncomfortable situation of being offered to stay in Buffy's mother's home during Buffy's absence. I cannot imagine that being anything but awkward for my young Slayer._

_Hmm. I find myself more and more frequently thinking of Faith in those terms as "my Slayer", regardless of my awareness that at some point, she will be assigned a Watcher of her own. I am rather finding that that prospect is disagreeable to me._

_Oddly so, perhaps. However, I am finding Faith to be captivating, challenging, and often infuriating, much as I did Buffy. Having Faith assigned to another Watcher would... annoy me._

_While I remarked earlier that I couldn't imagine two more dissimilar young women than Faith and Cordelia, I have since come to revise that opinion. I am beginning to believe that they are alike in many ways, surface appearances notwithstanding. More akin to mirror images than opposites. Both can be bluntly honest and both are possessed of a disinclination to put up with what I assume Faith would call "bullshit", if I were to slip into the vulgar argot. Both use somewhat different methods of hiding their true faces from the world, and I suspect that both of them have blind spots regarding how often the their true selves shows through once one begins to understand how to look for it._

_I rather suspect that very few people take the time to actually look beyond the surface facades that both present so forcefully. I am sadly becoming aware that in Cordelia's case, it has taken me far too long to attempt to do so. I find myself wondering if I should re-examine my understandings of young Master Harris and Ms. Rosenberg as well..._

_In retrospect, looking over my earlier journals, to my growing suspicion, it is more Faith and Buffy Summers who are the true opposites. There are surface similarities, but deep differences as well. In combat styles alone, the differences become apparent. Buffy has a certain reluctance to fully immerse herself in combat and within the Slayer Essence. She may well be a better technical fighter than Faith, but she is also more analytical and very much less exuberant. Faith, on the other hand, fights with a ferocious enthusiasm that I can only marvel at and be disconcerted by. Buffy is an inspired combat technician. Faith is a force of nature, potentially capable of overcoming obstacles through sheer skill, ferocity, and determination. I would very much detest to ever see a serious combat between them outside of the sparring circle: their natural competitiveness could well prove disastrous._

_In personal interactions and philosophies, the differences become apparent as well. Buffy can at times be annoyingly self-absorbed. Faith can appear to be so, but behind the surface, she seems to be constantly watching every action and expression of those around her with an intensity that can be frightening. While I have no doubt that she is as fiercely introspective as Buffy, and quite as reserved in her own way, Buffy can often be completely unaware of subtexts in others, whereas I seriously doubt that Faith misses any sub-__or__-overt texts. Both do share a tendency to constantly test those around them; Buffy overtly, Faith much more subtly so._

_I find myself often fearing that my own grasp of subtext and subtlety is sadly lacking, and I am badly failing in any number of these hidden testings._

_Unfortunately, as the day progresses and the other members of our small group gather about or pass through the library, and I overhear their interactions, it would seem that at some point following last night's dinner engagement Faith's aplomb slipped a bit with possibly explosive results. Young Willow reacted to inquiries of Faith and Cordelia's whereabouts with rather frosty indifference and signs of some deep inner shock that I cannot fathom. A reaction completely at odds to Ms. Rosenberg's heretofore quickly growing ease with both of the other girls. Young Xander's reactions to the same query was deflected with his usual odd humour, however, he quickly changed the subject and I have had the distinct impression that he seems torn between comforting Willow and deep frustration with her. Odd. As for young Oz, I have no idea: he remains impenetrable to me. From snatches of overheard argument between Xander and Willow, I find myself assuming, hopefully in error, that there was some sort of altercation between Willow and Faith (or possibly Cordelia) that went badly pear shaped and left the others mediating uncomfortably._

_(Which, as an aside, does cause me to wonder; do these children not have anything __else__ to do in a summer vacation than spend time with dusty books, weapons, and an equally dusty librarian? I am certain that I recall that in my youth, a tranquilizer rifle and shackles could not drag me into school of a summer. On second thought, the sharp objects may have proven sufficient draw for me without the shackles, were I suitably tranquilized.)_

_Faith and Cordelia seem notably absent, by contrast. I fear I have grown accustomed rather rapidly to Faith showing up for training and practice, often in the company of young Miss Chase who then proceeds to watch the proceedings with evident distaste and a cheerfully irreverent string of comments and insults aimed at everyone in reach of her tongue. It would possibly horrify Miss Chase to realize that I quite find myself missing her and Faith's often scandalous byplay._

_It occasionally horrifies me to realize that despite my concern and distraction over my worries for Buffy's safety and her whereabouts, I am recently having the most entertaining period of time that I've had in years. It makes me feel quite disloyal to my other Slayer._

_Be that as it may, I do hope that whatever frictions have arisen, they do manage to heal whatever rifts are currently fracturing their previous camaraderie. Rather unexpectedly, the group has been beginning to recover from the damage done to it by Buffy's disappearance, Kendra's death, and Angelus' rampage to reform into an interesting team. Possibly, and it both distresses and heartens me to observe this, an even stronger team than before. _

_That, quite possibly, is the most striking difference of all. While a strong slayer, the outwardly gregarious Buffy much prefers to lead, and often seems to prefer to work alone wherever possible - much of this out of fear that one of her friends shall be injured or killed in aiding her, I believe. Whereas, the outwardly diffident and independent Faith displays an unexpected knack for enjoying having hunting partners, even though she also seems to be wary of having her supporters injured, and is __not__ desiring of leadership._

_It fascinates me to observe that this development seems to astonish Faith most of all._

_On the morrow I must leave once again to pursue another slim lead to a possible Buffy sighting: a young blonde tourist reportedly seen in an altercation with vampires in Tijuana. I find it unlikely to be Buffy, however, it must be followed up on considering the Council's lack of success in locating Ms. Summers through normal means._

_- Rupert Giles, Watcher; In this Year of Our Lord 1998, August the 10th._

**...**

_**Monday August 10, 1998; vacant lots near vamp lair on Willston Street, night.**_

Rolling her shoulders to work the kinks out, Faith sighed. Long night, and not much happening - something that always got her bored and keyed up. Faith _could_ be patient when she needed to, but she was just hyperactive enough, especially since being Called, that she didn't _like_ it.

Taking the walky-talkie off of her belt she keyed the talk button, "Yo, Nighthawk. Gonna work my way over to your side. Hang tight." A double click came back in response. She still got a major temptation to snicker over the code names, but had to admit the little radios were a cool idea.

Xander didn't start or jump - much - when she worked her up to his spot in the lot on the other side of the house and went "Psst!" at him from a few yards away. Faith slipped in the rest of the way and squatted next to him, facing the vamp house.

"Hey," Harris whispered. "Not much change from the other night, except, no take home this time." He paused, then said in a thoughtful tone, "Lot's of in and out traffic for some reason."

"Yeah," Faith considered that for a minute or so. "Also, couple of new vamps, making it eleven again. Doable."

"Yeah. Hairy, probably," Xander stated. He saw a flash of white teeth from Faith's grin.

"Makes it fun," Faith said. "After 1am. C'mon... let's work our way out and call it a night. We'll tag and bag 'em late morning."

They worked their way down and across to the river end of the back of the lot, then along the river for a mile until they came to a street ending and climbed up to it and out. Faith slipped her crossbow along with Harris' air-rifle bow into his duffel-bag and they sat on the guard rail for a few minutes to rest.

"I'll walk you back to your house," Faith suggested.

There was a grunt from Xander's end of the guard rail, then he nodded after a moment. "Yeah, c'mon. Don't want to hang out in this area in case they're hunting close to home."

"Don't worry." Faith smirked, "I'll protect you."

Xander snorted, then laughed, "No no, not worried about that. Just thinking if too many of them dust out here, they might pack up and move." He glanced over at her, "Willy have anything new on this place?"

"Naw." Faith shook her head, deciding to leave out that she'd had other things on her mind Sunday afternoon. "What he had the first time: gang of vamps laired up run by some upstart wanna be master calling himself "El Fuerte."

"The Strong One?" Xander snickered.

"You habla?" Faith gave him a surprised look.

"California? Nineties?" Harris gave her a surprised look, "Bound to pick up a little just by absorbing it these days." After a minute he said, "'Sides, junior high Spanish was the only thing I made a C in."

"Hah! Man of many hidden talents," Faith poked him in the shoulder and they got up.

"You?"

"Yeah. Lots," Faith shrugged. "Corona, Tecate, Dos Equis... "

"Ah. All the important stuff."

Xander got quiet after that, evidently submerged in his own thoughts. Probably not happy ones, Faith figured - judging by the head down posture and slight scowl he had. After walking in silence for mile or so, Faith finally nudged him lightly with her elbow.

"Look, 'bout the other night," she began, a bit uncomfortably.

"Ah. Don't worry about it." Xander looked over and flashed her the trademark lopsided grin. "Willow got over it."

Faith shot him a 'think I'm retarded?' look and shook her head. "Yeah, could tell that by the cold spots around me, you, and Cordy. Thought the library had a ghost."

Harris kept his face blank, then snorted in spite of himself, "Ok. Maybe a bit frosty-like."

Faith nudged him again. "We cool, though? Like, you and me?"

"Yeah," Xander nodded. After a minute, he looked over and gave her another grin, a real one this time. "Yeah, we're cool," he said.

"Good."

"So... " After a few more blocks, Xander glanced over and said, "You and Cordy getting pretty tight?"

Faith shrugged, then after a minute said, "'Like Cordy. The cheerleader's all right."

"Hah! 'Cordy' and 'all right' is a word combination I don't hear often," Xander snickered.

"Huh." Faith stared at him for a few minutes, until Xander started to squirm a bit. "Maybe you should," she said. "Look, guy. Girl's into you in a big way. Wanna think about that, maybe. 'Cause you're for damned sure into her."

"Into _me_?" Xander laughed, "Cordelia tolerates me."

"Huh?" Faith stopped and turned on him, "You fucking retarded?" It came out 'retahded' as the Boston drawl thickened. "Girl was any more into you, she'd have it tattooed on her ass."

Xander's mouth opened, then his eyes glazed over for a second. He shook his head, "Sorry, mental image overload. What were we talking about?"

A reluctant snicker came out of Faith, and her lips twitched up in a slight grin, "Damned horndog." She shook her head, "Girl like that doesn't hang out with a guy like she does you if she's just slumming, trust me."

Xander's eyes widened and he started, implying that that's exactly what he'd been thinking. "Who said anything about slumming?" Faith's smirk answered him, and he moved on, "Willow doesn't like her a lot."

"Willow doesn't like anything that gets in the way of her having the hots for you," Faith said.

"No!" Xander stopped, glaring. "There are no Willow hots going on! None, nadda. No Willow hots!"

"Right," Faith drawled out the word into about five syllables. "Have fun on that river. Got paddle?"

Xander glared at her again and dropped into a cheerfully sullen silence until they got to his house. He looked up at the dark windows and remarked, "Good. Loving parents are asleep."

"Cool." Faith glanced over at him, "Morning? Library, plans, then go hit the place?"

"Sounds good." Xander stuck his hands in his pockets and looked at her, "I'd invite you up, but... "

"No worries," Faith nodded. "You probably figured from last night that I got the drill from way back." Xander nodded uncomfortably, then turned and went up the walk.


	6. Chapter 5: Once Upon a Time in

**Chapter 5: Once Upon a Time in California -**

_**Tuesday August 11, 1998; Sunnydale High School library; mid-morning.**_

"All right," Faith leaned over the table, looking at the house plans Willow had found and printed off. "Three doors, tall windows, four bedrooms, looks like, and kitchen/dining in one, living room and another one. And a basement - that's probably where the main guy and several of them are holed up in the day. Basement's off the kitchen here."

Cordelia looked bored, and, Faith thought, kind of hot in her designer camo. The others shrugged, nodding. Willow gave her a nod and looked away. Faith sighed and pushed her hair back with an irritated gesture.

"So, like, how should we do this?" Cordelia asked.

"Ok. Umm... since I've done this before, my opinion?" There were nods and Faith went on, "Xander and Cordy go in at the back door, on the river side. Me, Oz, and Red do the front door. Oz and I cover while Will uses a base ball bat on the windows, and Xander covers while Cordy takes out windows. Then we move through and dust whatever we see before grouping at the basement door and figuring how to go down and finish it." She paused, thinking, "Arrows and super-soaker/paint-balls mostly. One covers with holy-water while the other shoots as much as possible. Don't close unless you can't help it."

Faith looked up, "Sound good?"

"Why me, you, and Oz together?" Willow asked, not looking up. Faith groaned inside, resisting the temptation to roll her eyes.

"Because we need to cover you while you smash out windows, and since Oz is the next weakest physical fighter - no offense Oz," Oz shrugged and gave her a half smile, "I want to be able to cover him."

Willow nodded with an obvious show of reluctance and Faith sighed internally again, trying not to show it on her face. That's what came of working with people - all the soap opera crap got in the way. Xander studiously looked away from both of them, while Cordelia studied Willow with an unreadable expression. Sigh.

"Workable," Oz put in, unexpectedly. Faith grinned at him, relieved. Xander nodded and he and Cordelia bent over to study the layouts.

"I _still_ think it's crazy," Cordelia said, "But it sounds ok." She looked up and grinned, "Beats 'jump in screaming and hack away', anyway."

"I kinda find they duck less if you don't scream when you leap," Faith snickered. "Makes 'em easier to hit." Cordelia grinned, nodding.

"Hey - anyone seen Giles since Sunday morning?"

"Oh, he had to go out of town for a few days to follow up on something," Willow said. Faith looked at her more sharply than she'd intended to. And Red couldn't have thought to mention this to her before, like Faith might not wanna know?

Everyone gathered up weapons and gear, and checked them over. Faith caught Willow lightly by the sleeve as the rest filed out to Oz's van, "Gotta sec, Willow?"

"Guess so," the red head mumbled. She stopped and looked up, "What?"

"Look... " Faith rolled her shoulders, then stuck her hands in her back pockets, staring down at her feet, "'Bout the other night... "

"Oh, don't worry about it," Willow gave an airy wave. "It was stupid, ok? I'm stupid."

"No. You're _not_," Faith raised her head angrily, meeting Willow's eyes. "Look, I shouldn't lose my cool like that. Makes me say shit I don't mean to."

"You meant it," Willow's chin came up, stubbornly. "And, hey! You're kinda right. But you're kinda wrong, too. It's not all like that," she said in an angry tone.

"Yeah," Faith scuffed her boot. "Look, I'm not good at this. I don't want you being all mad at me because I had a lot of past shit boil up that you didn't know about, ok? And I don't want you getting hurt because both our minds are on how pissed off we are, right? It'd make me feel bad, and you know how I get."

Willow's lip twitched a bit from their stubborn set, then she kind of smiled reluctantly. "All grr and yelling and pushing your hair back and stompy?"

"Uh, yeah," Faith grinned. "And then Oz will deck me."

"He _would_, too," Willow snickered, then looked up.

"Probably," Faith agreed.

"Look. You're just... a lot different than Buffy. That's not a bad thing - " Willow said hastily, as Faith's eyes clouded over. "But Buffy was - _is_ -my best friend, and it's hard to adjust." She sighed, "I'll be ok. Just let me work through this, huh? I really don't know much about the kind of things you were yelling." She paused, "Like I said - kind of stupid on some things."

"But we're ok for now, right? Mostly?" Faith asked. Willow nodded. "Good. Let's hit the Oz-mobile and go dust some vamps."

**...**

_**Tuesday August 11, 1998; Vamp lair on Willston Street, 11am.**_

There were three vamps sprawled out in the front room when Faith kicked in the front door, and went in low and fast behind the kick. She dusted one with a crossbow bolt as it jumped up, and there was a shriek from others when Oz and Willow nailed them in their faces and chests with holy-water from the paintball pistol and Red's super-soaker. Faith heard the back door crash in as Xander smacked it with an eight pound sledge.

She put a stake through the heart of the nearest vamp as it staggered towards her, and heard the other dust as Oz shot it. Willow started smashing out the black-painted over front windows with a bat while Faith snatched up her crossbow and reloaded it. They could hear breaking glass from somewhere in the back, and a crossbow going off. A vamp charged into the front room from the hall, only to jump back, snarling and smoking as sunlight caught it. Oz dusted it with and arrow through the chest.

All of them were covered in dust when they met up by the basement door in the kitchen. Oz was probably going to have a major bruise on one side from the vamp that kicked him before Faith could stake it. Judging by the rips in Cordelia's camos and the incipient shiner Xander was developing, it looked like the others had had at least one close scrape. Cordelia had a black smudge on one cheek and a wild look in her eyes.

"Five," Xander said as they came in.

"Seven!" Willow told him, grinning from ear to ear. "Woo! That was like scary, only not really because they didn't get to us and - "

"Intense," Oz observed.

"Jeeze, Will," Faith remarked. "Take it you're having fun?" Willow nodded enthusiastically. Faith grinned. She looked at Xander and Cordelia, "Notice anything off about this place?"

"You mean, like, way more vamps upstairs?" Cordelia said. The others nodded.

"Place is clean for a vamp hideout," Xander said. "No rotting leftover meals lying around."

"Eeew. Totally gross, but yeah." Cordelia nodded.

"Yeah. Means they're dumping their take out in the river, and hunting away mostly," Faith stated.

"Basement door is kinda slightly open," Oz said.

"So it is," Faith nodded, eyes narrowed. "Everyone loaded up?" There were nods as the others checked their weapons and made sure they had stakes and axes handy.

"How do you want to do - " Cordelia pointed at the door, "- That?"

"Only one way I know of," Faith took a deep breath and traded her crossbow for one of the arrow-rifles. She checked her stakes and the big dagger at her back, and took her axe in one hand. "Go in fast, Oz and Xander come down behind me, you and Red cover from the doorway. Ready?" She kicked open the door and lunged in.

"Faith -" Xander shouted, then shook his head and followed Oz in after her.

Taking the stairs three at a time, Faith leaped off halfway down and landed in a crouch. She decapitated one vamp with her axe and used the arrow-gun to nail one meeting the description of the lead vamp through the heart - just as he was reaching for a large satchel on a big table to one side of the basement. Oz and Xander hit the basement floor behind her, looking around wildly for attackers.

Cordelia fired from upstairs and a vamp dusted just as he was about to disappear into a tunnel dug into one of the basement walls, leading away. Faith could hear snarls, shouts, and foot falls heading away, fading. She growled and took a long stride toward the tunnel mouth, axe raised and a stake in her other hand...

Xander caught up with her just short of the tunnel entrance and snagged her by the belt, stopping her. "Faith!" She rounded on him, wild eyed, and he moved one hand to her shoulder. "That is _not_ a good idea, Faith," he said, staring earnestly into her eyes until a little of the wild look went away and she shook her head.

"Bastards," Faith muttered, and spat at the floor.

"Yeah," Cordelia remarked. "But there's tunnels all over under Sunnydale. No telling how _many_ bastards, you know?"

"Does explain why there's more vamps than we saw leaving at sundown," Xander said.

"Hey, look here," Oz said. Faith grumbled again under her breath, and then went with Xander and Cordelia to join Oz and Willow at one of the workbenches along the sidewall.

The workbench was covered with plasticine bags, some of them containing a reddish crystal like powder, along with sets of scales and a portable soldering iron, still warm. Faith bent and picked up one small, filled bag from the floor, looking at it curiously.

"What is this stuff?" Willow asked. Faith shook her head.

"Dunno," she replied. "Looks like a dime bag of heroin, but this stuff is red." She stuffed the one in her hand and another from the bench into a back pocket. "We'll show it to Giles and ask him, when he gets back."

"Cutting lab," Oz stated. Willow gave him a curious glance, and he shrugged. "Musician. We know these things."

"Huh." Cordelia's voice came from the big table at the other side, "I'm going to say your rent is covered for awhile," she tilted the satchel towards them.

"Whoa," Xander said. "Holy greenbacks." Willow's eyes went wide. Harris shook his head, blinking, "Ok, what next?"

"Toss the place and see if there's anything useful or that Giles might want to see, like mystical shit," Faith suggested. She pointed to several cans marked 'kerosene' on a shelf. "Then burn it - make sure they can't use it again easily."

"Urban renewal," Oz nodded. "I like it."

Oz backed the van in the drive way and they loaded it with a few items - Xander picked out a decent stereo and a better TV for his room out of the assortment of junk in the lair. Other than that, they left everything except the satchel. Faith set fire to the kerosene and then ran along the river back until she joined up with the van a couple of blocks away.

She found Cordelia sitting on Oz's bed with Xander, happily counting the money from the satchel, when she climbed in. Willow was describing to Oz the fights in the various rooms with animated gestures, punctuated on occasion with one of Oz's laconic comments.

"I make it about three thousand each, going five ways," Cordelia said. Xander blinked, then reached into one of his cargo pockets and tossed another stack in.

"Thirty-five hundred with what was in that vamp mobile the other night." He grinned sheepishly, "Got distracted by all the other stuff."

"wow," Willow said in a small voice. "Vamps do money. Who knew?"

"They gotta buy their blood and beer at Willy's with _something_, Red," Faith said, grinning. Willow grinned back at her, nodding. Faith wasn't under the impression that she and the little red-head were kosher yet, but it was a hell of a lot better than the frostbite from the previous afternoon. "I was only expecting a few grand _total_," Faith added.

Xander and Cordelia were having a quiet, intense discussion on the bed. Cordelia shook her head and swatted him affectionately on the arm, then said, "Ok, split my share up however you want. I don't need it." Willow gave her a startled look from the passenger seat, frowning.

"Naw, C," Faith said, pained. "You did the work, it's yours."

"Please. I don't need it," Cordelia rubbed at the black mark on her face with her sleeve. "Or.. put it in, like, a Scooby Fund or something. For whatever."

"Works for me, I guess," Faith said after a long moment made her certain the cheerleader wasn't going to budge on it. "Everyone else?" There were grins and agreement from the others. Faith nodded. "Thanks, C." She grinned, adding, "Wanna make a mall-rat run this afternoon?"

"Sure," Cordelia grinned. "But I am _so_ going to shower for, like, three days first."

"Cool," Faith considered. "Take a couple off the top from the 'Scooby Fund'? Xander and I can drop it on Willy tomorrow before starting patrol."

"Post raid beach party tomorrow night," Oz suggested. "I want to hear more about Xander's wedding plans."

"Hey!"

**...**

_**Wednesday August 12, 1998; Willy's Alibi Room, just past dark.**_

"Ok, so just us for patrol tonight, huh?"

"Yeah," Xander nodded. "Cordy wants to stay in, and Will's going with Oz to some gig the Dingos have in Oxnard."

"Oh well," Faith said, shrugging, "Bein' stuck with just you's a hardship and all, but I guess I'll live."

"You are too kind," Xander said sourly, then he grinned. Faith tossed a return grin at him over her shoulder, shoving open the door to Willy's and bouncing through it.

"Hey, Willy - " Faith froze three long strides past the door, taking in the scene before her. "What the fuck, over?"

An extremely bloody and battered Willy was propped against the bar with a pair of brown scaled, spiky looking demons in suits holding him up, one with a large pistol to Willy's head. Willy gave Faith a weak grin as her expression grew thunderclouds. There were a trio of green scaled demons at the back table, looking like the paper reading ones from the other afternoon. Place was empty, otherwise.

"Uh, Faith?" The strained note in Xander's voice derailed Faith for a moment, and she turned slowly to glance back, almost afraid of what she'd see.

Xander had a pasty expression, his arrow-rifle dangling from one hand as another of the spiky, brown demons held a pistol to his temple. A second one stood to the other side of the doors, holding a gun aimed at Faith. The three demons at the back got up and moved forward, one of them adjusting his glasses in a surreal, Giles-like gesture.

"Hey!" The center demon gave them both a wide, very toothy grin. "You must be the slayer Willy's telling us about," he remarked. Willy gave Faith a weak shrug, and she shook her head fractionally.

"Might be," Faith allowed, eyes narrowed. "This a bad time? We can come back later, y'know -"

"Funny. I like that," what Faith took to be the boss demon said. "Why don't you turn and toss the crossbow out the door. Stakes and whatever, too." He grinned, "Else your boyfriend gets a lobotomy."

"Gonna shoot us anyway, I might wanna go for broke here," Faith said, flatly. She had to hand it to Harris - not a squeak from him at that.

"Who said anything about shooting? Just want to have a chat, with no hasty unpleasantness," the demon boss gave her a pained look. His eyes got hard suddenly, "Do it."

Faith shrugged, removed the bolt, and tossed the compound crossbow out. She did the same with her stakes. "Now the boy's weapon," came from behind her. She took Xander's air-rifle and his paint-ball pistol and tossed them out as well.

"'K," Faith turned back. "Happy? Now get the piece away from the boytoy and we can chat."

"Naw," the demon said. "You're going to walk out, slowly with us, and he's coming too. He keeps the gun to his head so you don't get hasty. You start a fight, he dies, you get shot. Make sense?"

Faith nodded, her face frozen. She turned on her heel and stalked out, the two brown scaled gunsels following her with Xander, and the other three demons.

She heard the main demon toss out as she exited the door, "Break Willy's arm - he only needs one to bartend. And make sure he can't use a phone, then join us."

"'K," Faith said again, turning around. "What's next? You wanna chat, chat away." There was a numb feeling in her gut, and she couldn't force herself to meet Xander's eyes. She looked contemptuously at the boss demon instead.

"Not that kind of chat, Slayer," he said, shaking his head. "See, this is going to be kinda one-sided. I talk, you pay attention, and we punctuate it to make sure the message gets through." The other two brown demons came out after a shrill scream from Willy drifted out.

"Fine, whatever," Faith nodded. "Gotta say, you're not entertaining me."

"Okay," the boss demon nodded. "I'll try not to bore you." One of the brown demons went around behind her, covering her carefully with a short barreled shotgun he drew out from under his jacket. "Here's the deal. I'm setting up in this town. Now, I don't mind having a Slayer around. Not as long as you don't do much, you see? Bad thing about slayers - you kill one, you get another. Just doesn't ever end - eventually they get you. So... we're gonna try something different."

"Run around all you want. Hey - stake all the fledglings you want. Vamps hunting that club, what's it called? No probs: dust 'em. But," he grinned. "That's about it. Start screwing with my business, and we get nasty. Break your back without killing you so no one else gets Called. Then, we take out your friends. Something nasty happens to that little red-head and that socialite." He leaned forward slightly, "You don't wanna see that happen, do ya?"

Faith shook her head, avoiding looking at Xander.

"Good." He glanced at the demon standing next to her. "Fuck her up, but don't mark her face too bad, and don't break anything she needs to walk with."

The first blow hit Faith in the stomach and she doubled over, gasping, then another to the mouth straightened her up. She heard Xander yell something, followed by the sound of a blow and a grunt, and she looked over at him, spitting out blood.

She met Xander's eyes for the first time since inside the bar and locked gazes with him, and shook her head. He glared back at her, but he nodded tightly, and set his jaw, looking very pale.

After that, there were a lot of blows, interrupted by kicks on occasion, and the world grew bright, white, and filled with pain. She stopped feeling the punches and kicks after awhile, even though she could tell when ribs cracked and flesh split.

What seemed like a long time later, the blows stopped. One of the brown demons pulled her roughly to her knees, and yanked her head up and back by the hair. She spit at the boss demon and it came out bloody.

"Good." The boss demon gave her a satisfied smirk. "Now do her friend while she watches, to punctuate the message. She fights, put a load of buckshot through her legs." He paused, then added almost as an afterthought, "Oh, yeah - you don't want to go to the hospital with this. We check? Your socialite friend gets to have a party. You'll both heal on your own and the lesson will stick better."

When the first blow hit Xander, she turned her head to glare at the boss demon until one of the thugs yanked her head around. After that, she locked her eyes on Xander's while they beat him and didn't look away again.

But her eyes burned like coals behind the flat, brown stare, way down deep at the core of her being.


	7. Chapter 6: Out Patient Services

**Chapter 6: Out Patient Services -**

_**Wednesday August 12, 1998; street outside of Willy's Alibi Room, early night.**_

Someone was slapping at her, and it hurt. She mumbled something and tried to turn her head away, and nearly passed out again as her skull felt like it was splitting open.

"Faith?" she couldn't place the voice for some reason. And thinking was way too hard. "Faith!" The light slapping continued, and she tried to push whatever it was away, fuzzily. "Man. C'mon Faith. We got to get out of here, before some vamp finds us."

"Doan' wanna," she mumbled. "Go 'way."

"Come on, Faith, get up, please... " She felt something pulling at her, and whatever it was managed to get her clumsily to her feet. The world spun around her.

"'M'ok," Faith grabbed hold of whatever was pulling her up and braced herself on it. "God, this sucks." Her head cleared slightly, finally, but it still felt halfway split open. She heard a gasp, and loosened her grip slightly.

"Good, good," the voice said. "That's better. Hang on to my arm."

She did that thing, and stood swaying for a moment. A strong arm wrapped around her shoulders and she felt whoever it was swaying too, It made her dizzy. "Oooh, nice bicep," she mumbled. "Huh? Harris?"

Xander laughed, painfully, "God. Beat half to death, and you're still a horndog."

Faith snickered, then winced. Ooh! Her name was 'Faith'. Cool. "Do-doan make m'laugh. Hurts."

"Not doing much for me, either," Xander murmured. "You with me again, huh?"

"Yeah, kinda." Faith looked around, slowly. She recognized Willy's across the street, and saw her crossbow, her axe, and Harris' arrow-rifle and paint-ball pistol and it came back to her in a rush. "Huh? They left our weapons?"

"Yeah." Xander's voice was flat, "Guess they figure it doesn't matter since we're not going to do anything to them, huh?"

Faith thought about that for a moment, and remembered parts of the conversation around the beating. "Right. Bastards."

"Double bastards, with a helping of asshole on top," Xander's voice was sour. "Can you walk?"

"Gimme a minute," Faith said. "You?"

"Give me more like, five." She felt him ease her over a few feet, anyway. "Gonna lean you against this wall for a minute, that ok?"

"'S'fine." She peered at him, "Should be holding you up, 'm the Slayer."

"They didn't beat on me as hard," Xander said. "Be right back." She watched him walk slowly and carefully over and pick up the assorted weapons and bring them back to where she was leaning against a building front. He slumped afterwards and leaned next to her, panting heavily. "Better. Can shoot a vamp, now if one comes."

"'S'all good, then."

"All right," Xander said, finally. "I think I can walk some now."

Faith said, "Me too," and bent over carefully to pick up her crossbow and axe. She slung the axe over a shoulder, put her stakes in her belt, and put a bolt in the slot of the still cocked, but empty crossbow. "I'm good." She glanced at Harris, who had his arrow air-gun in one hand, and almost shook her head at the bloody and bruised look of his face. She felt her eyes sting.

"Me, I think I'm gonna need another minute. Let me lean on you for a sec," he said. Xander put his arm around her shoulder, raising it carefully. She leaned into him and put her free arm around his waist.

"You look like shit, Harris," Faith remarked.

Xander laughed, then winced. "You should see yourself, Slay-gal."

"Doan wanna," Faith looked up the street. It seemed like a long, long distance. "Ok. Let's motor. Very slowly."

They made it eight blocks, moving slowly and stopping to lean on things along the way, until they came to the edge of the warehouse district. At one point, a pair of vamps came out of an alley mouth and turned up the sidewalk towards them. Faith and Xander stopped, almost too tired to even raise weapons and just looked at the two predators.

The vamps gave a long, careful look at the badly beat up Slayer and Scooby, carefully measured the look in Faith's calm eyes, spread their hands carefully and backed up several yards, then casually crossed the street and moved on by.

"Hah. Guess they didn't like our looks," Xander quipped.

"What, warmed over dogshit?" Faith grinned painfully. "Can't imagine we look all that appetizing."

"Gourmet vamps," Xander said. "Whoda thought it?"

Reaching a convenience store at the edge of the industrial strip, Faith maneuvered them to the wall by the pay phones and slumped against the wall. Xander kept a careful grip on her shoulders, not letting her slip down.

"Don't think I can make it any farther," Faith admitted.

"Me either," Xander said. "Got any change?"

"Yup." Faith straightened and pulled herself around to the front of one of the phone shells. She smacked the change box soundly with the edge of her fist, and coins rattled out into the change slot. "Who?"

"You're a bad influence," Xander stated. He thought for several long minutes. "Crap. No Giles. Only one choice."

"Whasser number?" Faith dialed the number as Xander gave it to her, listening to it ring for a long time until it was picked up.

"Chase residence," Cordelia's crisp voice came over the receiver.

"Cordy?"

"Who is this?"

"'S'me," Faith mumbled.

"Who- Faith?" There was a pause, "Are you drunk?!"

"Wish I was," Faith did her best not to snicker. "Need you to pick us up. 'M'hurt, can't walk no farther. Xander too."

"Oh my god! Where?" Faith told her the location of the Circle-K and listened for a few minutes, then hung up when the connection broke on Cordelia's end. She pulled herself back around and slumped against the wall next to Xander.

"Cordy said not to go anywhere," she remarked.

Xander started laughing, then gasped out, "Oww. Did you tell her: not a problem?"

**...**

_**Wednesday August 12, 1998; Los Angeles, night.**_

A real date, huh, not that they were calling it that. And she thought she'd never, ever even _want_ to contemplate the idea again following Acathla. And, wow, wouldn't Giles have a freak if he heard her use a word like 'contemplate' in a sentence? In, like, a completely repressed British sort of freaky way, anyway. Might even twitch his lips and clean his glasses. Buffy grinned to herself, then lost it when a sudden pang went through her at the thought of Giles.

Pike frowned, walking next to her, apparently seeing her grin suddenly disappear. "Bad thought?" He asked.

"Oh," Buffy waved a hand. "Just a 'not one I wanted to have' sort of think."

"Ah." Pike nodded.

Buffy quashed thoughts of Sunnydale and Giles and the gang ruthlessly. Summers were always light on demon and vamp activity anyway. She figured everyone was probably enjoying summer vacation and getting along just _fine_.

"No worries. All gone now. Cheery Buffy all back, see?" Buffy sent him a bright, cheery, Pepsodent Cordelia style smile and he laughed.

"So where's the On/Off switch?" Pike made a major show of searching her back and sides for buttons and levers. Buffy slapped his hands away, giggling. "Ah. Here it is," he poked her experimentally in the belly button.

"Stop that!" Buffy gasped and gave him a light - _very_ light - shove. Pike put on a show of staggering away, then fell in next to her again, hands in pockets and grinning.

Buffy smirked at him, and hooked her arm through his elbow.

It had been a good... date so far, she decided. Non date. Both of them off work, with Buffy not having to be in until afternoon the next day. Dinner was relaxed, even if it wasn't fancy. At least it wasn't at Helen's. The movie was fun, if a bit cheesy. Elena had been tucked away with a sitter who'd cheerfully waved away proclamations that they'd be back early with a 'whenever'. Pike looked interestingly good in a suit. The area wasn't Beverly Hills, but it was a pleasant change from the run down sections around Helen's and Buffy's apartment. She'd managed to make it through with only thinking about Sunnydale and Angel once every half hour or so, instead of every ten minutes. All in all - a nice, if unexpected change.

So just naturally it all went to hell in a hurry.

First it was shouts and the distinctive sound of fighting noises from a block or so away into the edge of the nearby industrial area. Then it was running figures headed towards the sounds of fighting in small, scattered groups flitting through the shadows and uncertain streetlights.

And Buffy didn't even need the tingle along her nerves to identify the figures as vamps - full game faced running kind of makes that one obvious.

A stake found its way from her handbag to her hand without her even realizing it. She glanced at Pike and saw that one had appeared in his hand from somewheres, similarly.

"Hemery reflexes," Pike said, shrugging. Buffy nodded, then bit back an exclamation as he took off in the direction the running figures had without a glance back, evidentially trusting her to follow.

Darned men. All of them Xanderlike, way down deep. At least the decent ones. Buffy took off after, muttering under her breath, and easily catching up with him.

It was a half a dozen young men and women of African-American heritage locked in a street/old warehouse fight with a dozen vamps, dust piles around them. Buffy noted absently that it was disturbing how fast the slaying reflexes cam back, even after months without use. A tough fight, with lots of vamps - but the half dozen human fighters and the addition of Pike and a Slayer almost made it no contest.

Then it was over, and Buffy leaned heavily against a street lamp, catching her breath and shaking dust out of her hair, and examining her blouse and good jeans with a disgusted expression.

"This is gonna take a lot of dry cleaning," Pike gasped out, leaning with his hands on his knees, catching his own breath. Buffy checked him visually over for injuries, found none, and gave him a sickly grin.

"Hey, dog. Wasn't expecting to see you out this way," a tall black man called out. He was young and street dressed, wearing what Buffy supposed was a 'doo-rag' or whatever it was called on a shaved head. He came over to bump fists with Pike in some elaborate ritual. "Not that I'm complainin' or nuthin', you understand."

"Yeah," Pike nodded, still breathing heavy. "You guys are a bit out of your territory, hey?"

"Gotta go where the vamps are, man," the black guy grinned. "How's the hellcat?" He looked over at Buffy with a nod. She waved and straightened up off of the lamppost to walk over.

"Old friend of mine from way back," Pike said.

"Hi, I'm Anne" Buffy put her hand out, at the same time Pike said, "Meet Buffy."

Pike gave her an embarrassed look and shrugged, mouthing 'sorry'. "And this is Gunn," he motioned to the black guy.

"The name, not the firearm. Two ehn's." They looked at each other, sizing each other up. Gunn gave her a nod. "Well, Buffy-Anne," he said. "Nice moves. We could use you on our crew."

Buffy sighed. "What the hell, it's Buffy," she said, waving it off tiredly. "And 'whoa! no'. I just do this for a hobby these days. But thanks,"

"Ain' no thang," Gunn shrugged. "So," he turned back to Pike. "'Lonna still watching your curtain climber for the night?"

"Oh yeah, thanks."

"Good. Kept lil' sis out of this," Gunn gestured at the dust piles. "Gone make tracks now. Laters." He glanced at Buffy, and grinned. "Nice meeting you. And thanks for the assist."

"No problem," Buffy smiled back. She noticed the other members of Gunn's 'crew' had already faded part way down the street. Gunn lifted a hand and went after them.

"Friends of yours?" Buffy asked, lifting an eyebrow.

"Known each other for awhile. They hang out by where I work," Pike said. "Alonna, Gunn's sis, babysits Elena sometimes for some extra cash."

Buffy nodded. "They seem nice."

"Yeah. I imagine Gunn can be mean if he wants," Pike said, nodding, "But he's pretty cool."

"And you hunt vamps with them?" Buffy's other eyebrow joined the first one.

"Oh no," Pike laughed. "Not unless I can't help it. Got responsibilities now that are more important."

"Yeah," Buffy grinned.

Pike looked down at his rumpled, slashed, and dusty suit with a rueful expression. "Guess this kills the night out, pretty much."

"Oh no," Buffy shook her head. "This is a normal happening on a night out for me, or used to be." She tucked her stake away, hooking her arm through his, "Not going to let some of the facially challenged ruin it. Let's brush off and go get some coffee."

**...**

_**Wednesday August 12, 1998; Circle-K at the edge of Sunnydale's warehouse district, early night.**_

It took about fifteen minutes before Cordelia's convertible roared into the parking lot, and she came screeching to a halt at an angle across three spaces by the phones. She opened her door and jumped out, skirt snaping at her legs as she ran over to them.

"Oh. My. God... " Cordelia stopped in shock at the sight of the pair. "What happened?"

"Tell you later," Faith mumbled. "Gettus outta here."

"Let's get you in the car," Cordelia came over and put an arm around Faith as Xander got a grip on her other side and straightened up, painfully. "Damned glad I though to put some blankets on the upholstery. We've _got_ to get you to Emergency."

"No hospital." Both of them said at the same time.

"Are you two losers _insane_?" Cordelia's voice went up two registers in shock, but she never stopped moving them towards the convertible. "I hope like hell you have a good reason for that!"

"No. Hospitals." Faith's glare left no uncertainty in the words. Cordelia reached past to pen the passenger door, shaking her head. "My place, then. Pool house - no one will see us or look in on us." She helped Xander get a groaning Faith into the passenger seat.

"Ok, back seat, Loser." Cordelia relieved them of hardware casually, dumping it in the back floorboards. "You look like you're going to pass out. Do NOT throw up back there."

"Yes dear," Xander grinned goofily at her. She got him settled into the back seat, and slid in behind the wheel.

"Don't yes dear _me_, Harris," Cordelia snapped. "I'll beat the living crap out of you."

"Gets bitchy when she's worried, huh?" Faith said, trying to find even a _semi_-comfortable position.

"_Don't_ start with me, kiddo," Cordelia said, but in a slightly gentler tone. "You haven't _even_ seen the Queen Bitch come out yet. I knew I was going to regret hooking up with you clowns. Christ!"

Maintaining a steady stream of complaints and insults, Cordelia managed to get both of them into the pool house, with the help of Xander and Faith hanging on to each other to prop themselves up. She got them onto couches in the main pool house and wandered off grumbling, coming back after a bit with a first aid kit and a prescription bottle in her hand.

"Hang on. Let me get some water," she stated. After a few minutes, she came back with a couple of cold bottled waters. "Here, take these and wash them down." She pressed a couple of pills into Faith's hand, who swallowed them dutifully with a careful swig of water. Then she did the same with Xander.

"What're they?" Xander mumbled, taking them.

"Pain pills, looks like you could use them." Cordelia bit her lip. "Faith's got a concussion, but she's a slayer so she should be able to handle the dosage, like Buffy can. I'm going to have to sit up with both of you so she doesn't pass out." She shook her head, "Good thing the bedrooms are on the ground floor in here."

"All of the good," Xander agreed. Cordelia nodded and went back over to Faith.

"Ok, I'm going to have to get these clothes off of you so I can look at your wounds," Cordelia said, gently. "It's probably going to hurt like hell."

"Knew I'd wear you down," Faith nodded, slowly. "And boytoy gets a show, too. 'S'a twofer."

"Hush, you. And that smirk looks horrible on you right now." Cordelia grinned, then winced as she pulled up Faith's shirt and started seeing the damage. "Oh, my gods... "

"Feels worse than it looks," Xander said. "And it looks bad, ouch."

"Yeah," Cordelia nodded. "This is ruined," she said, and Faith nodded. She cut Faith's shirtfront and carefully pulled the shirt away, then starting to work on the button to her pants. "Can you get your own clothes, Xan?"

"Uh... don't think so," Xander pulled at the hem of his shirt for a moment, then gave up, panting. "Sorry."

"Ow." Faith said, brown eyes looking seriously at Cordelia. "Hurts."

"I know. Sorry." She got Faith's boots and socks off, then carefully worked the pants down and off. "Ok. I'm going to start on the cuts and splits now. I'll try not to hurt you too bad."

"Cool." Faith looked down. "'M'getting your couch bloody," she said in a small voice. Her eyes got wet, then spilled over, and she blinked rapidly.

"Shh. Doesn't matter. It's ok." After cleaning and dressing Faith's injuries, helping her to turn over carefully to do the back, Cordelia moved to Xander's. She got his clothes off with brisk, gentle efficiency and cleaned his scrapes and cuts, ignoring his groans.

"Ok, Doofus," she told Xander, "I'm going to get you to the bed, then I'm going to come back for Faith. Can you make it, you think?"

"I'm all good," Xander nodded. He gave her a serious look. "Thanks, Cordy."

"Yeah, well," Cordelia helped him get his arm across her shoulders, and levered him up carefully. "Thank me when you get the cleaning and medical bills. If you live through this, idiot."

She got Faith settled into the king sized bed next to him, and then sat with them, waiting until Faith's pupils indicated she was probably past the concussion complications stage and it was all right to let her drift off. Xander lay back against a pair of oversize pillows and watched her with amazement as she carefully stroked the Slayer's forehead and face with a cold washcloth until Faith went to sleep. "Thank God for Slayer healing. She'll probably be halfway to all right by tomorrow when she wakes up."

"Wow. I don't think I've ever seen you like this," Xander said, finally.

"Yeah, well, don't expect me to dress up in a little nurses outfit," Cordelia said, her voice breaking.

"Rats, and I had such high hopes," Xander reached out an arm for her. "Come here."

"I'll make you hurt worse," Cordelia said, angrily brushing away tears. "Goof."

"Don't care. C'mere." Xander put an arm over his girlfriend's shoulder when she crawled carefully between him and Faith, and then held onto her until she stopped sniffling and sat up.

"Ok, dammit." Cordelia said. "I'm _not_ going to get all weepy over you two." She wiped her face, and looked down at the sleeping Faith. "All right. Think you're up to telling me what happened? Or are you ready to fall asleep?"

"I don't think I can sleep yet. Hurts too much," he admitted. "All right, but it's ugly."

"Oh, please. Like we haven't done ugly?"

"No. I mean _ugly_, ugly." Xander gave her a serious look, and then told her the story from the time they got to Willy's until he came to, panicking, next to a seemingly comatose Faith. She listened quietly, and then just watched him and Faith for a long time.

"All right," Cordelia said, her brow creased. After a bit, she looked at him and said seriously, "You know we're not going to be able to let this go."

"Yeah," Xander said, and then looked away. "But... Christ, Cordy - you heard what they said they'd do."

"Yup. And you think Faith's going to get up in a day or so and make like a good little tame Slayer and play nice?" Cordelia snorted. "Oh, please." She caught his eyes. "_Listen_ to me, Harris. No _one_ is going to beat _my_ only two friends half to death and then strut around like some two bit gangster Angelus." Her eyes went hard and his breath caught in his throat, "This is the way it goes. They use a knife, we use a gun. They put two of us in the hospital, we put _all_ of them in the morgue."

Xander stared at her for a long minute. "Friends, huh?" The corner of his mouth curled up in a lopsided grin.

Cordelia swatted him playfully. "Oh for... _that's_ all you heard out of all that, Doofus?"

"No, I got the rest of it, too, but that was the important part," Xander's grin got wider. "Important to me, anyway."

"Loser. You make me cry again, and I'll finish you off," she warned. "Damn straight, friends. Maybe the only two I've got. Especially you, idiot." Cordelia glared at him, "Want to make something of it?"

"I wouldn't dare," Xander admitted. His eyes promised they were going to talk about this, sometime soon. "Untouchables?"

"Yup. All those lame movies you make me watch have to be good for something." She grinned at him, and started working her way out from between the two. "Keep an eye on Faith? I'm going to go clean up and change for sleeping."

"Hey," Xander's quiet voice stopped her at the doorway. "We're going to get killed at this, you know."

"Like we couldn't have gotten killed raiding that vamp nest for money?" Cordelia's eyes were grave. "This is actually important."

Xander nodded, then said seriously, "I may have to rethink that Vegas wedding chapel thing." His eyes sparkled at her.

"Damn right. You'll never _do_ better, Harris." Cordelia grinned, and slipped out the door.

"Wicked. Toldja," Faith mumbled, blinking up at him sleepily. "Jerkoff."

"Hush, Slay-gal. Go back to sleep." Xander said, smiling. He brushed the hair back away from her forehead and watched her until Cordelia came back.

**...**

_**Thursday August 13, 1998; Chase Manor, early afternoon.**_

"Christ," Cordelia muttered to herself. "I'm going to be stuck to both of those losers forever, at this rate." She leaned against the door frame of the pool house master bedroom, watching Xander sleep fitfully, Faith curled into his side. Shafts of morning sunlight streamed in leaving reddish highlights on Faith's wavy hair and lighting her bruises into striking contrast against her pale skin.

"Could be worse to get stuck to, I suppose," she groused. "Could be Harmony," Cordy shook her head. When Faith began moaning and tossing in her sleep, she sighed heavily and went over to sit on the edge of the bed and shake her gently.

Faith's eyes shot open with a panicked look and she half sat up, wincing.

"Hey - easy. It's ok," Cordelia said. "Bad dream, that's all."

After a moment, Faith relaxed slightly and lay back again. "Tellin' me." She rubbed at her eyes, "Time is it?"

"About one in the afternoon." Cordelia gave her a worried look. "Feel up to some coffee?"

"Sure," Faith nodded. "Water?"

"Yeah," Cordelia took a bottle of water from an ice bucket on the dresser and opening it, handed it to her as Faith pushed herself up to a partial sitting position against the pillows. "Need another painkiller?" She asked, and helped adjust the pillows under Faith's back.

"No, I'm good for now," Faith said. "I think. Xander?"

"He's doing all right. But he's not going to enjoy getting up for a few days," Cordelia told her.

She drank some water, then gave Cordelia a serious look. "They hurt us real bad, Cordy."

"I know."

"I couldn't do anything."

"I know."

"They threatened you and Red and Giles and Oz. And they held a gun to Xander's head and then they beat us and beat us and they laughed."

"I know."

Faith's eyes went dark, liquid, and remote. "I'm going to kill them for that."

"I know." Cordelia nodded. "I'm going to help. And then we're going to stick their heads on spikes on the front edge of Willy's roof."

"Good." Faith nodded back, her eyes still remote. "Coffee?"

Cordelia grinned, "I'll be right back with it." She paused, "Can you get up to go to the bathroom on your own, or do you need help?"

"I'm good." Faith said. "Just not right yet, ok?"

"Ok."

When she returned a few minutes later with a carafe of coffee on a tray and three mugs, in case Xander woke up too, she found Faith sitting up a bit farther, and brushing the hair back from Xander's face. Faith looked up and nodded to her. "Hey."

"Hey," Cordelia sat down on the bed and poured Faith a cup of Kenya AA and passed it to her, pouring herself one.

"You really think he's going to be all right?" Faith asked, her eyes still very dark, and serious. "They hurt him bad."

"Yeah, I do." Cordelia smiled and said, "Look. I'm going to tell you something about Xander that somehow, none of his _friends_ seem to have figured out. For a supposedly normal guy, he heals a lot faster than he should. And he doesn't seem to get hurt as badly as you'd think something should hurt him."

Faith nodded slowly, and thought about it. "For friends, they don't seem to pay much attention."

"I wonder, sometimes." Cordelia shook her head, "I really do."

Faith took a sip of coffee, then another with a surprised look. "This is good."

"Should be," Cordelia's lips twitched, then she grinned.

"Heh." Faith grinned back after a minute, and she glanced back over at Xander. "First I wake up in bed with you, then with Xan, and I'm _still_ not getting laid out of the deal."

Cordelia snickered, "Well, if you can make sex jokes already, you're probably ok, huh?"

"Yeah. Have to." Faith nodded, "Because I don't want to come unglued and start screaming and breaking shit." She gave Cordelia a serious look, "Thanks. You know, you're really pretty cool."

"Now, _don't_ start that," Cordelia warned. "Because _I_ don't want to come unglued and start screaming." She grinned.

"Yeah, it'd wake up the Xander."

"Can't have that," Cordelia said gravely. "Look, you think you'll be ok for while? I need to go by the library and see if Giles left any messages on his machine, and if there's a number for Willy's in his files. I called Oz's place and Willow's earlier and left messages for them to call me as soon as they get back, and not to go anywhere."

"I'm good." Faith nodded. "Feeling a lot better, kinda. Probably be good to go in a day or so."

"All right." Cordelia said. She looked to the other side of the bed, "Keep an eye on Doofus. I have my cellphone if you need me - number's on the dresser."


	8. Chapter 7: Threat Displays

**Chapter 7: Threat Displays -**

_**Thursday August 13, 1998; Sunnydale High School library, afternoon.**_

Cordelia unlocked and pushed open the main doors to the library, going inside and starting towards the back. Part way in, she stopped as a medium height, greenish scaled demon in a suit that met Xander's late night description strolled out of Giles office. A sound drew her attention, and she saw a much larger brown scaled one with spikes all over his head at the top of the stairs leading down from the stacks.

The greenish demon grinned and came around the counter casually, removing his glasses in a sickening parody of Giles' familiar quirk. If he started polishing them, she was going to scream.

No point in turning to run - not if they had guns, as Faith and Xander had attested to. Cordelia drew herself up to her full height and glared at him coolly, ignoring the other one as if he didn't exist for her.

"Hey," the demon gave her a cordial nod. "Came by to have a talk with the Brit fellow, but he seems to not be around."

"Pity, that. You'll have to reschedule," Cordelia's voice came out a calculated three degrees above zero.

The grin got a bit wider. "You must be the socialite."

"Cordelia Chase," she inclined her head. "And you must be the walking corpse that hurt my friends," Cordelia gave him a measured two-hundred watts of the thousand watt smile.

"I see you already got my message," he said. His grin didn't falter, but the yellowish eyes suddenly got very flat and very cold, "I'm not a vampire."

"I didn't say you were," the Cordelia smile got a bit brighter.

"So you didn't," he nodded, and leaned casually against the counter. He ran his gaze up and down her body, slowly, before it came to rest on her face again. "You know? You're a real looker."

Cordelia acknowledged that with a casual nod, then replied, "And you're a pretentious thug wearing a fifty-dollar Italian knockoff."

He straightened abruptly, the grin sliding off his face like it was on rails. He cocked his head, looking very much like a lizard. "Smart mouth. You're not in the least bit afraid of me, are you."

"Not in the least," Cordelia agreed.

"I could change that for you."

"Somehow, I doubt that," Cordelia said, letting her grin grow a tiny fraction more. "On a scale of one to Angelus, Principal Snyder is more frightening than you are."

"Maybe so. But Principal Snyder, whoever he is, isn't likely to kill all of your friends and do a bottle job on that pretty face of yours." He nodded, "I am."

"I'll bear that in mind," Cordelia nodded.

"Do that. You might not enjoy waking up with a horse's head on your pillow."

"And you might not wake up," Cordelia said, brightly. "Shall we continue this until one of us blinks?"

The demon laughed, "No. I think we've both peed on enough fence posts."

"Thank you for that enlightening display of couth," Cordelia said. She drew herself up a bit more, and looked down at him. "The door out is at the top behind the stacks, where your friend is. I trust you can find your own way out."

"I know where it is," he nodded. "Make sure the librarian gets my message."

"If you'll be so kind as to give me your address, I'll make certain he RSV P's in person."

"I'll find him if I need to," he shook his head laughing, then turned and strolled casually over to the stairs, then up and disappeared into the stacks, his thug falling in behind him.

Cordelia waited until she was certain she heard the rear door shut, and slumped heavily, slowly letting out a deep breath. She discovered after a moment that, to no surprise, her hands and legs were shaking.

"I have _got_ to make like a sane person and get _out_ of this town," Cordelia shook her head. "Jeeze."

Shaking slightly, still, she went to Giles' office and hunted until she found his address book, and the information she wanted. She checked his messages, and left a note suggesting he call her as soon as he got in. Then, after careful consideration, she gathered up a selection of demon references, including the new Barlow's Guides, and loaded them into a bag to take home with her.

She locked Giles' office and the library up behind her, for all the good it might do.

**...**

_**Thursday August 13, 1998; Chase Manor, mid-afternoon.**_

Xander was up and sipping coffee when she got back, propped up in something resembling a sitting position against the headboard. Faith looked up from where she'd been staring blankly at the tee-vee, propped against the other set of pillows. "Hey."

"Hey yourself," Cordelia came over and gave Xander a critical inspection, then leaned in and kissed him deeply. She nodded to Faith, and smiled. "I'm saving yours for later."

"Tease," Faith said. But the joke actually tweaked something close to a real smile out of her, even if it didn't reach all the way up to the whiskey colored eyes. And a lopsided grin out of Xander. Cordelia figured it was a net win.

"I see Faith's been busy corrupting my girlfriend, too," Xander said. He glanced at Faith, "Stop that - no wait! What am I saying? Faster pussycat: corrupt! Corrupt!"

"Goof," Faith smirked.

"I see you're feeling better, both of you," Cordelia shook her head and sat on the edge of the bed near Xander.

"In my case, it's an illusion brought on by another painkiller," Xander said. "We're all _floating_ down here." He frowned, "And now I'm going to have nightmares about evil clowns."

"Five by five. I'll live," Faith nodded seriously. She still had that bleak look to her eyes, and Cordelia didn't like it at all. Faith picked up the remote and muted the television. "Find what you wanted?"

"More than," Cordelia admitted. "There was a visitor in Giles office when I got there - one of your non-friends."

Both of them looked at her sharply, and checked her for signs of injury before relaxing. "Do tell," Faith said.

"Yeah... " Cordelia decided that quips and embellishments wouldn't go over well here, so she detailed the encounter in a no frills fashion.

When she'd finished, Xander nodded slowly, "Yeah, that'd be the one."

Faith stared at Cordelia, then smiled slowly. "Damn, you've got a pair, huh?"

Cordelia grinned. "If I'd been closer to the door, I'd have run like hell," she admitted. "Since I wasn't," Cordelia gave a small shrug, "I channeled my inner Ice Bitch and bluffed it out." She arched her eyebrows and her tone went severe upper crust and lofty, "After all, I'm a _Chase_ and _we_ eat plebeian hoodlums for breakfast."

"With a nice Perrier to wash them down with," Xander smirked.

Faith's eyes clouded over. "Maybe I should've tried that," she said, flatly.

Xander opened his mouth, but Cordelia beat him to it. "Shush. It wouldn't have helped. He didn't want me, or he'd have beaten me up too. He wanted you intimidated."

Faith stared at her for a minute, then nodded and looked away.

"She's right," Xander nodded, then looked intently at Cordelia. "When did you get so good at this comfort thing?"

"When you weren't looking, probably." Cordelia sighed. "I grabbed some books to hunt through and see if I can find out what those demons are and if there's anything special needed to kill them."

Faith's eyes flicked back to Cordelia's and locked on them. "We need to locate this guy and kill him before Oz, Red, and Giles get back. They're gonna walk into things blind if we don't."

"Working on it." Cordelia nodded. "I called Willy's, but no answer. I didn't leave a message. I'll try again later."

"Hate to say this," Xander said, "But I hope they didn't kill the smarmy little weasel." He shook his head carefully so as to not set off a migraine, "Oz and Will should be back tonight. Just have to head them off before they run into anything."

"I thought I was ru-coming somewhere safe," Faith said, softly. She looked at Cordelia, then at Xander, "But there isn't anywhere like that, is there."

Xander opened his mouth and shut it again, looking away.

"Afraid not," Cordelia said gently, watching Faith with an intent gaze. "But we're going to survive it anyway." Faith scowled and glanced down. "Look at me, Faith," Cordelia waited until Faith's eyes reluctantly came back up. "We can deal with this. But I can't do it without you. We need you."

"I'm just gonna let you down like I did Xander. Like I did... " Faith shook her head.

"Hey! You didn't let me down. No letting down going on here!" Xander shook his head, not caring about headaches. "You kept me alive. Even if you had to take a beating to do it. That's not letting down... that's the bravest thing I've ever seen. _Hardest_ thing I've ever watched."

"Right." Faith swallowed heavily. After a minute, she nodded, slowly. "Wasn't that easy on my end, neither," the corners of her lips curled up slightly. Xander chuckled and reached over to squeeze her hand.

Cordelia nodded and the thousand watt grin came out. "You probably wish it was only your _end_, and not the whole body." She looked at Xander, "We're going to need to wrap those ribs. I checked Faith's last night - they're just cracked - but you may have a broken one."

Xander winced, "Feels like it. But that cure's worse than the disease, almost."

"You two people are nuts." Faith stared at Cordelia intently, then her eyebrow's lifted. "Just realized something. You haven't been a snarky bitch once since we got here last night."

"I'm saving it up for later," Cordelia stated. "After this is over, I plan on unleashing it all at once," she said seriously, but her eyes were twinkling.

"Ok, so now that I'm all with the positive waves and crap," Faith looked at them, "_How_ are we gonna do this?"

Xander pursed his lips and Cordelia frowned. "That I don't know yet. I just know we will."

Xander shrugged, then nodded. "Because we're Scoobies, and we always muddle through." He grinned, "We just get the crap beat out of us first. It's a Tradition."

"Yay tradition. Huh." Faith's brow creased. "Think maybe these guys are attached to that vamp crack house we took down?"

"Don't know that either," Cordelia admitted.

Xander shook his head slowly. "Maybe, but demons and vamps _usually_ don't work together. And that guy said he didn't care much if you did usual slayer stuff, like dusting vamps. Just don't mess with _his_ deal." He frowned, "Ok, which means we have two things instead of one. Oh joy?"

"Deal with the dangerous one first," Cordelia stated.

Faith nodded slowly, thinking. She chewed at her lip, "Ok, next question none of us can answer: think they might come here?"

Cordelia bit her lip, her eyes slightly wide. Xander took her hand and squeezed it, and she said, "Thought about that. Maybe. Sounds like they knew an awful lot about us, including where to look for Giles."

"They probably beat all that out of Willy," Xander said. He made a face, "They could have just paid him for it and he'd have coughed up," he added, sourly.

"Willy's never seen half of us." Cordelia stated.

"Yeah, but every demon in town goes through there, and you guys have done a lot of stuff together." Faith said, frowning

Cordelia thought for a bit, the said, slowly, "We're gated and we have security. And an armed guard contract. Of course, this is Sunnydale, so they're barely a few steps above the Sunnydale PD, but they're something." She stood abruptly. "Wait here, I'll be right back."

Faith and Xander looked at each other and shrugged, neither having any idea where the cheerleader was taking off to.

After about fifteen minutes, Cordelia came back with a pair of shotguns, one a long barreled pump action, and the other a semi-auto and set them down along with a couple of boxes of shells.

Faith raised an eyebrow. "You know how to use those things?" She asked.

Cordelia grinned, "In Daddy's circles sport shooting's kind of a requirement, like golf. He has a full gun cabinet. _I've_ been shooting trap and skeet since I was twelve. It's just not Politically Correct to actually, like, _admit_ that in Southern California." She looked over to Xander, "And I'm sure 'Nighthawk' over there still remembers how."

Faith lifted both eyebrows, at that. Xander said, "Halloween. I'll tell you the story sometime. Or Cordy will," he grinned.

"Damn straight, Soldier Boy," Cordelia began loading shells into the semi-auto. "I'm staying in here with you two until this is over. As long as these idiots aren't immune to buckshot, if they come in this room, they have _issues_."

"Cool," Faith said. She added, "And you people are _still_ nuts."

**...**

_**Thursday August 13, 1998; Chase Manor, late night.**_

Ok, _this_ just _wasn't_ going to end well. Willow and Oz had been easy enough to intercept: they'd gone to Oz's place first to unload his amps and electronics, and when he found Cordelia's message, Oz called right away and brought both of them straight over. No major big. Oz even thought to bring pizza.

Oz was taking things pretty well, even if someone who knew how to read him could see the hidden panic in his eyes when he looked at Xander and Faith and extrapolated their injuries to Willow. He listened quietly, interjected painfully controlled observations and objections on occasion, and kept his cool. When he had an idea, he stated it and let it lie there while other heads examined it and took it apart, or adopted it. If she hadn't seen him lose it, rarely, Cordelia would have to wonder if Oz had the _capacity_ for emotions. As it were, she still marveled at his bone deep aplomb, and envied it.

Xander was making suggestions and tossing out ideas, as usual disguising them as lame jokes and quips to mask his own gibbering moppet inside. And to lighten things to keep everyone else from panicking. Cordelia often wondered what would happen if that clown mask ever slipped for good - and was terrified to be in the same state if it did. Faith was quiet, letting the others talk except when she had to relate something, and lapsing into sullen stillness far too often. Faith looked like Cordelia suspected _she'd_ feel if she could afford to allow herself to.

No, the problem was _Willow_, who, having listened to the story leading up to this point with growing alarm, was having what Cordelia was tempted to call a very quiet panic attack. Panic attack mixed with a major internal spaz over the sight of a bandage wrapped Xander in boxer shorts sprawled out on a king sized bed with Faith lying comfortably in there next to him in some of Cordelia's more comfy underwear. It probably didn't help that Cordelia had related a lot of the situation from the bed curled up on Faith's other side. Tough. Having Cordelia and Xander near enough to touch seemed to have a calming effect on Faith, keeping her from going into funks quite as badly. And, well, it _had_ been a long and terrifying day and a half - it was helping keep _Cordelia_ from going into funks and gibbering in panic.

And if _Cordelia_ found herself this close to losing it, it was a pretty good bet that Xander and Faith were about three steps from full blown wigouts. The argument wasn't helping. Willow in overprotective panic mode wasn't helping, either.

Cordelia really couldn't blame Willow for having a freak out over the beatings - that was ugly, and what could be seen of Faith and Xander's injuries was enough to give anyone the screaming meemies. Cordelia had damned near had a full blown meltdown at her first sight of the battered pair at the Circle-K, herself. Add in Willow/Xander/Cordelia issues, and things compounded. Fast.

"Will, I'm staying here. _We're_ staying here. At least until Faith's healed enough that we can do something," Xander was saying.

"Xander!" Willow's eyes went huge. Her mouth set and she looked at him. "Ok, you're coming with me, now, and going to the hospital. And then coming to my house."

"No, Will, I'm not." Xander's face set in a way that Willow wasn't used to seeing.

"Xaannderrrr. You're not thinking straight." Willow put on her 'resolve' face. "Don't argue with me, Buster. See this face?" She said in her best 'Willow knows best' voice.

Cordelia could see Xander's expression clouding over, but she could see his resolve weakening as well. She could also see Faith glancing between the two with her eyes narrowing and lines forming between her eyebrows. Time to take matters in hand. Like, before Harris weakened enough to do something against his best judgment and Faith hurt herself.

"No. I'm not getting you or Oz hurt because we jump off without thinking," Xander shook his head, masking a slight wince.

"Did you ever think maybe you wouldn't _be_ hurt if you hadn't been out - " Willow started, then cut off abruptly at Xander's expression.

Faith's eyes went dark and she started to sit up. Cordelia caught her eyes and shook her head slightly. The cheerleader slid off the edge of the bed, _fast_, and took a long step forward and took hold of Willow's arm just above the elbow.

"Willow Rosenberg? Hi! I'm Cordelia Chase, remember me?" Cordelia's eyes narrowed and her voice dropped slightly. "We need to talk."

"I'm talking to Xander." Willow's face set stubbornly. Oz pursed his lips and started to stand.

"Sit, Wolfie." Cordelia's eyes flashed. "Willow and I need to make girl talk about my injured boyfriend and my friend. Get in the way, and puppy goes to the vet, get me?"

Oz locked eyes with her and nodded after a long minute. Muscles in his jaw jumped slightly, but he sat back down.

"Hey! You can't talk to-"

"Willow, in two minutes, I'm leaving this room." Cordelia smiled brightly and shook Willow's bicep gently. "You can either come with me, or you can stay here and the arm comes alone. Which is it?"

Willow paled slightly, and her lips thinned. She nodded tightly and jerked arm away, stalking out of the room ahead of Cordelia. Cordelia flashed her smile at the room. "We'll be right back," she said, and followed Willow.

"Day-um," Faith said.

Oz raised a brow and looked at Xander. "Gotta say, man, I'm not liking some of the undercurrents here lately."

Xander nodded and shifted his arm, wincing. "Have to say; the rocks and shoals kind of have that sucky thing going, too." He looked at the door, then back to Oz, "If it helps, I don't _think_ Cordy will kill her."

Oz cocked his head, considering. "Not sure that helps."

Faith cocked her head and looked at Xander. "Has it occurred to anyone else that they Called the wrong girl?"

Xander turned suddenly pale and shuddered. "God forbid she's ever a Slayer on top of everything else. That's like, _clown_ scary."

**...**

"_Sit_, Willow," Cordelia half-followed, half-crowded the red head into the main room, away from the bed rooms.

"We can talk standing," Willow stated, crossing her arms.

Cordelia's eyes blazed and she stepped forward into Willow, her mouth set in a tight line, causing Willow to back away almost unconsciously until her knees hit the edge of the seat and she sat down abruptly.

"Stay," Cordelia nodded. "You are going to sit there, and I am going to sit here," Cordelia slid onto one of stools at the breakfast bar, "And we are going to _attempt_ to have a discussion like rational adults, or at least _one_ rational adult, because this little exhibition is _not_ helping."

Willow made a fish mouth, her eyes going wide in outrage, then narrowing. "I really don't have to listen to this," Willow said, putting her hands on the arm of the chair and starting to rise.

"If you get up from there," Cordelia said in a calm voice, "You can keep going and leave, because you won't be welcome in my home with my friends."

Willow gaped, "You can't tell me to leave!"

"Why yes, I believe I can," Cordelia cocked her head slightly. "I know you have a rather flexible understanding of other people's property rights, but this is my home, and I assure you that I can."

"Fine," Willow said, thumping back down. "Talk."

"All right," Cordelia gave Willow a serious look. "What did you think you were doing in there? Trying to aggravate Xander's injuries and possibly get yourself and Oz hurt as another warning to Xander and Faith?"

"No!" Willow looked appalled at the suggestion.

"Then what? Faith is about a single thread from going hysterical and imploding. I'm about two threads away." Cordelia said. "Xander is only barely hanging on because he thinks _he_ can't afford to break down, because it will send _us_ over the edge if he does. And he's right."

"I just want what's best for Xander," Willow objected, sullenly.

"No, you want what you _think_ is best for Xander," Cordelia said in the same calm voice as before. "That's not the same thing."

"That's not true! Xander's my friend!" Willow returned in a heated tone. "And -"

"Then start acting like one," Cordelia cut over her.

"I am!" Willow said, going pale, then furiously red. "I've been Xander's best friend since - "

"Since I broke your yellow crayon in kindergarten, I know," Cordelia shook her head. "No, best friends look at what their friends want and need, and what's best for them, not what suits their own ideas.

"What do _you_ know about being his friend?" Willow's voice came out scornful, "You couldn't even stand him until last year."

"I know enough to know what makes Xander tick," Cordelia stated. "And what Xander needs most is to know that 'his girls' are safe, including you. What _Faith_ needs is to know that she's not going to put anyone else in danger."

"Xander wouldn't even be hurt if he hadn't - "

"If he hadn't gone to Willy's before patrol with her?" Cordelia cocked her head again, her expression like a hunter baiting a snare.

"Well, yeah, and - "

"And if Faith had gotten beaten like that alone, Xander wouldn't have gone charging off when he found out and gotten hurt afterwards. Or killed," Cordelia nodded. "Right. Because Harris can _think_ straight when one of 'his girls' is in danger."

"You're twisting this around," Willow said, her mouth falling into a pouting line. "Faith just _stood_ there and - "

"Faith stood there and watched someone put a gun to Xander's head and then she took a beating that would have killed a normal human being in order to keep him from being shot," Cordelia stated. "A _Slayer_. You've seen Buffy in action; you think Faith couldn't have launched herself into those guys and spread body parts across Willy's and half the street before going down? Sure, she'd have gotten shot - but a Slayer is hard to put down."

"But -"

"But _Xander_ would have had his brains splattered all over Willy's door by then. So she let someone beat her half to death, and then she watched them beat Xander and didn't do anything to cause them to kill him, even though I _know_ how much she wanted to do _something_." Cordelia said, calmly. "I couldn't have done that, I'd have been screaming and begging after the first punch. I don't have the guts. You couldn't have done that, I don't think."

"And then -"

"And now she's killing herself inside because she thinks she _failed_ Xander. And failed _us_. And _then_ both of those idiots practically tore my head off to keep me from driving them to Emergency so that you, Oz, or me wouldn't be the next object lesson," Cordelia's calm rebuttals were remorseless.

"But -"

"But you think that if you do something foolish, and something happens to you or Oz, Xander and Faith won't kill _themselves_ getting up before they're healed and charging off to the rescue?"

Willow frowned, "I just want Xander to be safe," she said in a stubborn tone.

"Xander lives on a Hellmouth, Willow," Cordelia shook her head. "It's not safe. He's as safe _here_ as anywhere else. Safer."

"Here? He needs to be someplace where he can be taken care of," Willow objected.

"I'm taking care of them." She looked seriously at Willow. "Where else? Hospital? He won't go, and if you talk him _into_ it, those demons will kill one of _us_. His house? His parents couldn't take care of a stray cat. Your's? You _really_ think Shelia and Ira are going to let him stay there in your room without freaking out? Mrs. Summers? Do you really want to put Joyce in that kind of danger?"

Willow frowned, "No, but... "

"_Think_, Willow. _Act_ like the genius you really are. If you need to stay and help, and help look in on him, there's a bedroom across the hall from his and Faith's," Cordelia said. "You and Oz are welcome to it - it's probably safer for you and your families if _you're_ here. It'll set Xander's mind at ease knowing you're where he can help protect you."

"What about you? Where will you... ?"

"I'm sleeping in the bed with Xander and Faith so I can keep an eye on them, and wake them up when they go into nightmare land," Cordelia stated, calmly.

"But.. you... they... she's all... " Willow's eyes went back to round and outraged.

"Oh, for... " Cordelia ran her hands through her hair, frustrated. "Willow. _Grow_ up. Xander's my boyfriend and an adult. I can stay in the same bed with him and what we do behind a closed door is none of your business, not that anything's going to happen while he has bruises and broken ribs. I'm not gay, and even if I was, Faith's _injured_." She paused while Willow spluttered, trying to find objections, and added, "And if I _did_ want to have a Xander/Faith threesome, _that's_ not any of your business either."

"You you - " Willow pointed at her indignantly, spluttering.

"That's the real problem here, isn't it? Xander and Faith sharing a bed is driving you all wiggy. So is Xander and me being together." Cordelia shook her head, "Grow up. And get over it, this is _so_ getting old. If after eight _years_ Xander hasn't noticed your massive Xander-shaped crush by now, and you haven't made a move, it's never going to happen. Xander's with me, and he sees you as his adorable BFF and little sister - and he's _so_ not into incest."

Willow spluttered, then glared at Cordelia. "That has nothing to do with it and you know it!"

"If you say so," Cordelia nodded. "Just know that for once, I'm not letting you use your insecurities and your jealousy to bulldoze Xander into doing something that will hurt him. Or hurt you, and _then_ get him killed. You _don't_ want to cross me on this, Willow. If that's a problem for you, then that's ok. Deal."

Willow leaned back, her mouth set in a grim line, and folded her arms, eyes flashing. "I _really_ don't like you."

"We've cordially hated each other's guts for most of our lives," Cordelia agreed. "I see no reason to go about upsetting the natural order of things now." She narrowed her eyes, tilting her head slightly and studying Willow. "The question is, can you put that aside and _help_ me take care of him, and Faith, or are you going to be a hindrance and help get us all dead?"

Willow started to respond, and Cordelia put up a finger imperiously, cutting her off, "Because if you can't, if you can't stop trying to manipulate Xander into doing something he doesn't need to do, you need to go do something else, elsewhere. Because I'm _not_ going to _let_ you be a problem."

"I just want to help," Willow grated out, as if it hurt.

"Good." Cordelia nodded. "You can start by getting your witchy stuff if you need it, and casting some sort of ward or protection thingy and warning spell around this pool house, in case something gets past the gates, walls, alarm, and security, if you can do that."

"Hmm." Willow's eyes went thoughtful, "Probably. I'll have to get some books... "

"Good. You can go by the library and you and Oz can grab Faith's clothes and gear from her motel on the way back. Do be careful. Then you can begin helping me and Oz go through the demon books I brought from Giles' library so we can find out what these demons are and if there's anything special we need to kill them."

"Sounds good," Willow nodded. Her eyes narrowed again, "But we're not done with this."

"Oh, I think we are," Cordelia smiled. "We were done with it before we ever left the bedroom - you just didn't know it yet." Cordelia slid off of the stool, and reached down and patted Willow on the knee. "I'm _so_ glad we had this chat. We must do it again sometimes."

Cordelia headed off to the bathroom, closing the door behind her and then sliding down it to wrap her arms around her knees and put her head down across them. "I am _so_ going to have a massive nervous breakdown when this is done. And _then_ I'm going to go into therapy _forever_."


	9. Chapter 8: Living Arrangements

**Chapter 8: Living Arrangements -**

_**Friday August 14, 1998; Chase Manor, mid-morning.**_

There was something to be said for waking up in bed with a couple of gorgeous brunettes, Xander Harris decided. Even if it did have to come as a result of feeling like every place in his body had a bone-bruise on it. Looking down at Cordelia lying part away across his chest, a slight smile at the corners of her lips, and a sleeping Faith curled up in a spoon to her other side, Xander figured he could stand a few more beatings on occasion.

The payoff was kind of worth it.

It was too bad that that seemed to be a major part of what had Willow freaking. Xander wasn't sure what had gone on in Cordelia and Willow's conversation in the other room - and was pretty sure he didn't _want_ to know - but seeing Cordelia come out of the bathroom with her mouth set and Willow coming back into the bedroom with an air of bubbly faked cheerfulness suggested it'd been pretty grim. And while Xander privately thought that Faith had a point about the Willow-crushing, he _still_ couldn't quite see it. He just really didn't see Will that way, even if he did joke and flirt with her on occasion when she needed her spirits raised. Willow had Oz, and they seemed happy together - Oz was as obviously into Will as Faith had said Cordelia was into Xander.

Speaking of, Cordelia stirred slightly and mumbled into his shoulder, then raised up slightly, yawning. Spotting him watching her, she grinned and reached up for a long, teasing kiss. Faith grumbled next to her and rolled over.

"Morning. Why the frown-face?" Cordelia asked.

"Just deciding that I really don't understand anything about women," Xander said. He leaned down to kiss her again.

"Just now figuring that out, Doofus?" Cordelia laughed, "I could have told you that in Junior High if we'd been speaking to each other."

Xander grinned, "Also figuring out I need to get beat up more often if it makes for Xander-sandwiches."

"Doan you dare," came a mumble from the Faith side of the equation.

"And another country heard from," Cordelia said. "G'morning, invalid."

"Go 'way," Faith pulled a pillow over her head. "F'off'n'die."

"Not a morning person," Xander said, grinning.

"No." Cordelia agreed. Her face went serious for a moment. "But this really is a nice way to wake up."

Xander nodded, and Faith grumbled something that sounded like agreement. He sighed, "Too bad I have to leave all this for cold tiles and running water."

"Me too." Cordelia yawned again. "I'll take the other bath and start coffee after I'm done. Can you make it?"

"Oh yeah, just call me Hop-along," Xander eased up, and swung his legs over the side of the bed with a grunt. Cordelia slid out after him and put a hand to his back to steady him, her eyes worried. "See?" He said, "Look ma - no hands."

"Losers," Faith groaned, sitting up and yawning. She pushed her hair back and rubbed her eyes. "Bathroom after you, Cassidy."

Xander stopped and stared at her. "Someone actually got one of my jokes?"

"Cable. Western Channel," Faith yawned again and added, "Idiot."

Cordelia laughed and headed to the bathroom. She called out over her shoulder, "I asked Consuela to make a big platter of cold cuts, fruit and cheese and leave it in the fridge. I'll get it after I start the coffee." Xander watched her walk away appreciatively, and headed out on his own, limping only slightly.

Oz and a rumpled Willow joined them in the dining alcove about a half hour after Cordelia brought back the breakfast tray. Willow stared at Xander, eyes slightly wide.

"You're up!"

"Hey, he was _real_ up watching Cordy leave the bedroom this morning," Faith remarked, smirking.

Willow choked slightly and Xander interrupted hastily, "It only hurts when I laugh today, honest. And when I stand, and when I sit, and when I walk and -"

"We get the picture," Cordelia said. She grinned and shot Faith a 'don't start' look. "You're going to die horribly and in great pain, smiling." She waved towards the little kitchen, "Sodas in the refrigerator, guys, or coffee's ready if you'd rather."

"No, no coffee for the Willow," Willow stated. "Me and caffeine, not mixy."

She grabbed a non-caffeinated soda and coffee for Oz and then she and Oz helped with demolishing the breakfast tray. Faith glanced over at Willow, her face expressionless.

"Have any luck with the books last night?" Faith asked. Her voice was casual.

"Maybe... " Willow nodded, slowly. "We think the brown guys are something called a Kaliff demon, like demon hired thugs. The greenish ones don't have a name listed, but they're supposed to be like, demon underworld minions or something."

"This one seems to think he's Al Capone," Cordelia put in. "He's no minion."

"Take anything special to kill them?" Faith's eyes were hard and unreadable.

Oz shook his head. "Standard slice and dice."

Conversation was interrupted after a bit by the ringing of the portable phone, and Cordelia frowned and got up to answer it. "Who?" Cordelia frowned deeper and listened for a minute. "Ok, _what_ever, transfer him here."

She took the phone into the little kitchen so as to not have to listen or talk over other conversations, and they could only hear her low voice on occasion, punctuated by periods of silence.

Cordelia came back after a few minutes, chewing her lip and bouncing the phone in her palm, still frowning. "That was one of Willy's less offensive customers. I'd wonder how he got the number, but we _are_ in the book, so... "

"What'd he want?" Oz asked, matching her frown with a much slighter one.

"Willy slipped him a note, asking him to pass word to the 'The Slayer'. He said he overheard two of the thugs in Willy's laughing about my little confrontation with demon-boy at the library, and tried me."

"Huh." Faith looked at Xander, then back to Cordelia.

"And?" Willow's expression was caught halfway between troubled and curious.

"He says they've taken over Willy's, and the main guy and some thugs are staying at and basing out of some demon joint near where Spike holed up."

Xander nodded slowly. "I know it. Drayler's Bar & Grill. Little demon restaurant across from Spike's old warehouse and a block down. Near where Willy gets his bar stuff," he said. "Bet the owners aren't real happy with them."

"Demons have restaurants?" Willow snickered.

"Hey," Xander spread his hands, a lopsided grin on his lips. "Guess even demons sometimes want to go out for a plate of Mom's Pancreas Loaf and Kidney."

"Eeew," Cordelia made a face.

"Think it's a trap?" Faith was walking a fork across her knuckles, looking bored.

"Well, yeah," Cordelia said. Willow nodded.

"Maybe?" Xander shrugged, then winced slightly. "Dunno. After getting beat up and having his arm broke, Willy might hope we'll remove the problem."

"Huh." A line creased between Faith's eyebrows. "Don't think Willy sold us on purpose," she said. Xander nodded.

"But... " Willow made a waving motion with her hands. "What can we do even if it's not?"

Oz took a slice of melon from the tray. "My vote goes for something fatal," he said, quietly. He bit into the melon, his jaw muscles bunched at the corners.

Cordelia met Oz's eyes and nodded.

"I think there's a rooftop trap on that restaurant," Xander said, his voice equally quiet. "And places through there are usually pretty empty before dark."

"Works," Faith appeared engrossed with her coffee mug.

"Are you sure you're ready?" Cordelia's brow creased, her eyes concerned.

"Will be by this evening." Faith looked up and nodded.

"I can walk," Xander said. "And hold a weapon."

"You're still not healed!" Willow shook her head, her face going stubborn.

"I'll heal a lot better when no one has to look over their shoulders, Will." Xander said, softly. He kept his eyes fixed on the table.

"_No_ one does that to me and walks away, Red." Faith said, just as softly. "No one does that to someone I- " she swallowed hard, "To Xander and walks away."

"But, they've got guns and, they... you guys aren't in any shape for a big fight yet," Willow stated.

"Won't be a big fight, Red. One way or another, it's gonna be fast," Faith looked at Cordelia. "He say how many were there?"

"Two at Willy's," Cordelia nodded. "The boss guy and two bodyguards and two thugs at the other place. Rest out doing whatever."

"This is insane," Willow leaned back, chewing on her bottom lip, eyes big. Oz put his hand on her shoulder in a reassuring gesture and squeezed.

"Yeah, but it's the only asylum in town," Xander said. "Me and Cordy at the front, Oz and Will through the back?"

"And I come in through the ceiling," Faith nodded, her eyes still opaque and remote. "That's if you want to help?" She looked at Willow.

"Fine," Willow threw up her hands. "I'm nuts too."

Cordelia nodded. She gave Willow a real smile with no hostility in it, "We all are, Will. Or we'd have run screaming when Buffy first showed up." She looked at Willow and Oz, "Can you shoot?" Oz shook his head, and Willow made a face.

"Stick with the airrow rifles then," Xander said. He raised his eyebrows at Faith.

"I know which end to aim," she admitted, nodding.

**...**

_**Friday August 14, 1998; **__**Drayler's Bar & Grill, very early evening.**_

Faith rolled her shoulders carefully, wincing at the sharp pain in her ribs and back. And at the sting from pulling on her leather pants, and the way her legs protested when she flexed them.

"You really ok?" Cordelia asked.

"No." Faith shook her head, "But I'll be a lot better after this."

Cordelia nodded. "I'm not even going to ask Xander. He shouldn't even be out of bed."

"I know." Faith nodded. She concentrated on checking the edge of her axe, not looking at the cheerleader. "But I'd have to kill him to make him stay back."

"Yeah," Cordelia said. She couldn't think of anything else to add, so she let it drop there.

"Ready?" Faith looked up and met her eyes evenly.

"No. But I want to get this over with so I can have that mental breakdown I've been promising myself," Cordelia said. Her grin looked weak, and a bit sickly, but it was there.

"Yeah," Faith grinned back. Her grin didn't feel any better than Cordy's looked. "Let's get 'er done." She nodded once, and turned to stroll over to the little group clustered near Oz's van.

Xander met her eyes when they came up, and nodded. His grin looked like Cordy's. "You know, we're gonna have major embarrassment if we kick the door open and there's no demon mobsters there."

"I'll blush," Oz said. His hands worked nervously, fussing over one of the arrow air-rifles, checking it for probably the fourth time, but his voice was even.

"A-a-and I'll get all stammery and hide behind Oz," Willow added. She laughed shakily.

"Just so we have a fall back plan," Cordelia said.

"Right." Faith glanced around at everyone. "I'll walk over with Oz and Red through the alleys. Won't take me but a few minutes to climb to the roof and get ready." She paused, then added, "I'll click the radio when I'm there."

"You'll hear us drive up and stop," Cordelia said.

"Whole district will hear that thing," Xander joked. He and Cordy were going to be using the car from the vamp's house, and leaving it when they were finished.

"Should get their attention," Faith didn't smile. "I drop in, Red and Oz comes in through the kitchen door, all hell breaks loose."

"Yup, we'll be in our caskets before sundown," Xander shook his head, making a face. "Sorry, bad joke."

"You know any other kind, Dweeb?" Cordelia laughed and Xander shot her a mock glare.

"You know, we really are all going to get killed." Willow said.

"Xander and me aren't living now," Faith said in a very quiet voice. "Take us ten minutes to get up the alley. Let's go." She headed off without waiting to see if Willow and Oz were following.

Cordelia and Xander looked at each other, and went to their vehicle to wait.

**...**

The sound of the old vamp sedan wasn't quite audible all over the area, but Faith could hear it plain enough from where she was crouched by the rooftop trap. She took a deep breath, and when she heard the car horn, she yanked hard, once, on the hasp, and pulled it open and dropped through it.

From the looks of things, the little group of demon thugs were caught leaning by her entrance, all of them looking curiously towards the front, with two of the brown, Kaliff demon muscle types part way to the front half way out of their chairs and turning toward the doors.

She never gave them a chance to recover.

A bolt from her crossbow caught the boss demon in the shoulder of the arm that was reaching under his suit jacket, and he cursed, a handgun falling out and onto the floor somewhere. She heard the door crash open behind her, and a 12 gauge went off from someplace in that direction, followed by another. There was a sharper clap of sound following those blasts.

She was already moving forward, low and fast by then, and she didn't take time to glance back to see who had shot who. She hoped it was Xander and Cordy doing the shooting. The double bladed axe in her hand caught another of the greenish demons in the side and buried itself in his chest. He staggered back, taking it with him, and a flat automatic fell from his hand to the restaurant floor.

The few customer and staff types in the dining area scattered, most of them throwing themselves down and out of the way as fast as they could. The third of the greenish demons backpedaled, raising a pistol towards her. She heard another shotgun blast followed by a second, in rapid succession, as her hand snaked behind her for the grips of the long bladed dagger.

There was a soft thump, and another, and the greenish demon's back arched, his handgun falling from nerveless fingers. An emotionless looking Oz stepped through the doors leading to the kitchen area, casually reloading, as a pale faced and wild eyed Willow slumped against the door frame looking frantically in all directions.

Oz stepped forward and calmly kicked the greenish demon in the back of one knee, and put a bolt in the back of his head as he toppled forward. Everything suddenly went very quiet and still.

"Really bad idea you guys had," Oz remarked, gazing down. His knees buckled about then, and he braced himself on a table, looking suddenly pale.

Faith looked around, suddenly feeling empty and spent.

A wild looking Cordelia was nervously scanning the room, semi-automatic shotgun held muzzle down in white knuckled hands. Xander watched with an odd expression as one of the brown scaled thugs crawled towards a fallen revolver. He raised the other shotgun slightly as the thug's fingers touched the grips, and fired once, his eyes blank.

Nodding, Faith strolled over to the demon boss, casually taking the New York pimp's bodyguard's .45 out of the back of her waistband. She stepped on his wrist as he was trying to get a grip on the fallen automatic. He blinked up at her, starting to say something.

"You know?" Faith shook her head, looking down at him curiously. "You're really not even worth bruising my hands on."

She shot him once, between the eyes, and put the automatic back in her waistband, safety on. She yanked her axe from the other demon, and brought it down in a hard stroke, taking the boss demon's head.

"Really shoulda stayed outta Sunnydale." Faith straightened, holding the head in one hand and looked around again.

They others came over slowly, shaking their heads. Willow leaned heavily on Oz's shoulder, and Xander stopped nearby and braced himself against a table. Cordelia blew hair out of her eyes and sat on the edge of the table next to him.

"Well, that was fun," Cordelia remarked. She looked at what used to be the boss demon's head. "Said you were a walking corpse."

"I'll get the van," Oz said. He and Willow turned to the kitchen doors and went through them back the way they came, leaning on each other.

"Dinner _and_ a show," Xander said, deadpan, as customers and restaurant staff began getting up carefully from under various tables and parts of the room.

Three pairs of eyes riveted a reddish looking demon as he took a hesitant step forward, and he froze, putting his hands up nervously.

"This your place?" Faith asked, casually. She squatted carefully to pick up her crossbow, grimacing as she straightened back up. Xander gave her a sympathetic look.

"Uh, yeah?" The demon said. "I'm, uh, Grayle? Ano-movic demon - _very_ harmless."

"Good." Cordelia looked at him, "Next time, might want to mention that threatening Scoobies is, like, a _really_ bad plan."

"Got a big bag or a box?" Xander asked him, curiously. "We're keeping the heads. You can have the rest for entrees." The restaurant owner looked slightly ill, but didn't say anything, just swallowed nervously.

"Willy's?" Faith lifted her eyebrows. "Got a message of my own I wanna deliver."

"Willy's." Cordelia agreed. "Always wanted to see how the other half lived."

"Same routine?" Xander looked between the two of them.

"Nah. Too tired." Faith said. "Just gonna kick open the front door and walk in and kill anything that looks at me funny."

After gathering up the heads, Faith slung the crossbow, put an arm around Xander's waist, and got his across her shoulders. Cordelia took the bag of heads and her shotgun and fell in at Xander's other side. They went out the back looking for Oz.

Over at Willy's a very short while later, the front door crashed in and Faith took a quick glance around, then pinned the two Kaliff demon's at the back with a glare. The two thugs froze after seeing the various weapons aimed at them from next to and behind her.

"Go ahead," Faith suggested. "Jump any time you feel froggy."

"Slayer," a nervous looking Willy with his arm in a splint and sling, nodded to her as she looked around again. "I want you to know that I - "

"Save it, Willy," Faith shook her head. She set her crossbow down, and took the bag of heads over to the bar. Removing the boss demon's from the bag, she up ended the rest onto the bar top.

Several of the heads rolled and bounced down behind the bar. Willy turned even paler.

"Decorations for your roof, Willy," Cordelia told him. Faith walked over to the side of the room, and pushed the television off of its shelf to the floor, setting the boss demon's head in place of it.

She turned to the two Kaliff demons, and strolled over, hands in her back pockets. "Lose the weapons, slow." Faith said, her face expressionless. "Or fast if you're feeling frisky. I don't much care."

Both of them took another look at the two shotguns and the various arrowheads aimed at them, and laid their handguns on the table, very slowly and stepped back away from them.

"Wicked," Faith nodded. "You," she looked at one of them, the one who'd held a gun on Xander before. "C'mere."

When he hesitated, then stepped over to stand in front of her, looking down, she casually slammed a fist into his midsection. Face still expressionless, she brought an elbow down on the back of his neck when he doubled over, then stomped the side of his knee, breaking it with a sickening crack. When he dropped to the floor, snarling and groaning, she proceeded to plant deliberate kicks into his ribs, pistol shot like noises coming with each blow.

"Faith," Xander's voice came over to her, cracking on her name. She glanced up from what she was doing and over at him, still expressionless. She found him standing a few steps from her, his hand out towards her.

Xander shook his head, and Faith stared blankly at him for a moment. After a few long moments, she nodded, and gave the thug one last hard kick in the back of the head, and bent over him. Taking his chin on one hand and the back of his head in the other, she twisted, hard. She straightened and stepped away, pushing her hair back from her face with both hands.

"Right," she said. "Not worth it."

Xander nodded, then gave the standing Kaliff a tired look. "You might want to take whatever else you have here and go away," he said, softly. "We're going to go hunting soon, and it'd be kind of like a bad thing if you were still here."

Faith nodded. "Real bad." She looked over at Cordelia, and then at Xander. "Let's go home. I'm feeling kinda tired." She picked up the two thug's handguns and threw them behind the bar, and turned on her heel and headed across the room to the door. "Laters, Willy."

"What do you say, 'boy toy'? That sound like a wicked cool idea?" Cordelia's shoulders slumped and she grinned.

"Yeah." Xander put his arm across her shoulder. "I'm feeling kinda tired too. But it's a _good_ tired."

"Me too," Willow said. Oz nodded. "I'm not even feeling like arguing over where you're going to go 'home' to, right now," she added, grinning weakly.

"Damn straight."


	10. The Chicago Way: Epilogue

**The Chicago Way: Epilogue -**

_**Saturday August 15, 1998; Los Angeles, Pike's apartment.**_

The days following the date-not-a-date with Pike went by in a surreal mirror image effect for Buffy. On the one hand, there was the continuing 'ick' that was her job at Helen's Diner. Sore feet, grease smells, rude and grabby customers, long hours, and far too much effort for just enough money to pay her rent and bills with a bit left over for groceries. On the other, evenings when their schedules were close enough were spent sitting around Pike's apartment companionably watching television or a movie and playing with Pike's little girl.

It was almost like having a real life for the first time since just before Merrick had dropped in to disrupt her Hemery existence, only without the short skirts and cheer leading, and with much greasier hair.

Buffy decided firmly that she was either happier than she'd been since Angel woke up psychotic and homicidal, or desperately miserable. Or just numb. She couldn't figure out which, and she decided it really didn't matter.

She even found herself noticing suddenly at odd times that up to an hour had gone by when she wasn't desperately homesick for her mom, her friends, and for Giles. Even having to stake the occasional vamp on the way home from night shifts didn't take her back to Sunnydale in her mind as often.

"Get her tucked away?" Buffy asked, looking up with a smile as Pike wandered back out from the bedroom.

"Oh yeah. Squeaky clean, freshly storied, and snuggling happily into a pillow with Mr. BunBun and a tiny bit of drool," Pike said, laughing. He settled in on the sofa near her.

"Mr. BunBun?"

"Stuffed rabbit. She couldn't manage 'bunny' all the way when she first got him," he shrugged.

"Ah." Buffy nodded sagely. "Mine was Mr. Gordo the Pig."

"Not me," Pike smirked. "Stuffed animals just never fit with the image," he said, deadpan.

"I seem to recall different," Buffy's eyebrows raised and she smirked. "Or was that someone _else's_ bear peeking out from your bookshelf, hmm?"

"I take the fifth," Pike said loftily. "Can't prove nuthin' on me, copper."

"Darn. And I burned all the photos," Buffy snapped her fingers. "It's all right. That whole bad boy thing is overrated, I'm starting to think. Glad you lost some of it."

"It's hard to be a tough guy with a three year old in one arm," Pike stated. "Besides, you've seen me scream in terror."

"Oh yeah! I remember now," Buffy laughed, punching him lightly in the arm. "And such a _cute_ scream, too." She looked at him seriously, "It's a good change. Just enough bad boy to still be interesting, and just enough fluffiness to be appealing."

"Appealing, huh?" Pike leaned closer, eyes twinkling. There was a moment where Buffy might have leaned forward just a bit and they'd be kissing. So she did.

"Umm." She opened her eyes and leaned back and away. "Definitely. And I am _so_ really not ready for this yet."

Pike nodded, "That's ok. No hurry."

"This is... nice though." Buffy nodded.

"I agree," Pike said. He picked up the remote, saying, "Ready for movie time? And - oh! How about a trip over to Pacific Park next day off we both have?"

"With Elena?" At Pike's nod Buffy mock-frowned, "Sure you don't just want a chance to see me in a wet bathing suit?"

"Of course," he waggled his eyebrows, leering.

"Oh. Ok," Buffy settled in to relax. "Sure. Sounds fun."

**...**

_**Saturday August 15, 1998; Chase Manor, late late morning.**_

"This changes everything, doesn't it," Faith remarked. Following breakfast, the three of them had settled in on the couch at the pool house and popped a copy of Stargate into the player to relax with.

There was a long silence following that. Finally, Cordelia nodded. "Yeah," she said, "And no, not at all."

After a moment, Faith nodded seriously and her lips curled up at the corners. "Well, as long as you're certain one way or the other."

Xander laughed, looking over at her. "What do you mean?"

Faith brought her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them. Wearing a pair of Cordelia's pajamas and with no makeup, she looked extremely young and fragile. "Just... " she trailed off, shaking her head. Aiming the remote at the TV, she paused the movie.

After a few minutes, she glanced over at the other two. "Ok, this is gonna sound dumb, but... " Faith took a deep breath, "It's like this: ever since I got here, you guys have been dragging me in deeper and deeper, especially you two idiots, and now... I don't think I could get out if I wanted to, and I don't know how to go forward." She paused, "Make sense?"

"Ah," Xander nodded. "I have no idea what to say to that. I just want that on record."

"Doofus," Cordelia nudged him with her elbow, and grinned when he grunted painfully. She sighed. "I know exactly what you mean."

"So." Faith nodded.

"Yeah," Cordelia nodded. "But... I'm scared to death all the time, I don't fit in my own skin any more - and I've had more damn' _fun_ the past few months than I've ever had before."

"And that's a bad thing?" Xander asked, curiously.

"Yes, it is." Cordelia sighed again, "I think if I'd gone to Las Palmas for the summer with my parents, maybe I wouldn't know." She paused a moment, then continued, "But now? This summer changed me inside. I can't see any way I can go back to tolerating Harmony and the rest of the Cordettes and pretend to be Queen C still. Pretending to hate Xander and act, like, I really _care_ what anyone thinks about us being together. I can't even bring myself to care about any of that unimportant crap any more."

"What? No fashion obsession?" Xander smirked. "Sure, you say that _now_ -"

"Oh, _please_," Cordelia said, nudging him again. "I said 'unimportant crap'. Fashion is _always_ important."

"If you're going to keep trying to break my other ribs, I'm... well, I'll do something." Xander grumbled. "Revenge will be mine, oh yes. It will."

Faith grinned, first real one she'd felt like since the beating. "What, and risk driving off all this hotness?"

"On the other hand, I could just lay here and whine and soak up the hotness, yeah," Xander nodded. "At least until I can move without excruciating pain."

"Sad thing is," Cordelia said. "I don't know how to be anything else, not really."

"Same way you do everything?" Xander asked. Cordelia raised her eyebrows. "With extreme style and hotness?" He grinned, answering the eyebrow lift.

"Damn straight," Faith agreed, echoing Cordelia's catchphrase. Cordelia grinned. "Thing is," Faith looked away from them both, not meeting their eyes, "Don't wanna go back to before. I'd be dead without you two." The last part came out very quietly, almost a whisper.

"I'd have been dead without _you_," Xander shrugged. "You saved my life. And Cordy."

"Even if I almost got you killed." Faith nodded, "Makes for kind of a bond, huh?" She said, putting it in terms she could deal with.

"Yep." Cordelia nodded. "Thing is, no, it really doesn't change much. We were friends before this. Now, we just all _know_ we are, and everyone else does too. And how far we'll go for that."

Faith nodded again. "Which changes everything, like I said," she repeated, agreeing. "So, what now?"

Xander shrugged, uncomfortably.

"We go on, I guess," Cordelia said. "With no maps and no idea what the hell we're doing. I feel like we may be becoming something _we_ can't even see yet. And it's scary."

"I _never_ know what the hell I'm doing," Xander stated, emphatically. "Look where it got me."

"Wrapped in bandages and in horrible pain?" Faith suggested, a small grin tugging at her lips.

"And stuck between two hotties," Xander's lopsided grin came out. "Not really seeing a downside."

"Horndog," Cordelia smirked. She sighed again, "I wish this part of it could last forever."

"I am secure in my horndoggedness," Xander exclaimed. "And... me too."

"Three votes here." Faith added, "And I'm really counting on you guys to keep my hard case reputation intact, inspite o' all this mushy shit."

"No worries. You'll be back to your tough guy self in a few days, once the shock wears off." Cordelia said, then added, "But - it can't: this, I mean. Parents will be back at the end of August, and they'd have, like, major cow if they found Xander living here."

Xander shrugged, "I'll go back home when I'm healed up." He added, "Or whenever you kick me out."

"No hurry right now," Cordelia said.

"You need to be out of that place, Xan," Faith said. Xander shrugged uncomfortably again.

"She's right," Cordelia stated. "And you need to be out of that motel, Faith."

Faith looked away. "I don't mind it that much."

"I do," Cordelia said, simply. "But we can work on that," she grinned.

"We'll work it out." Faith shook her head, grinning back, "Meantime, lets finish the damn' movie, huh?"

**...**

**The END**

_**To be Continued in "Night Watchmen" Episode 1c: "Bones of Contention"**_


End file.
